21-year-old Samuel Hoepel from Zoetermeer has lost his mother to corona in a short time and also has to leave his home. The house where they lived together. School exams are also imminent. “It all feels like a big blur,” Samuel tells Heart of the Netherlands.
It is Friday, April 10, when the Zoetermeer care worker Johanna, Samuel’s mother, falls ill. Fever. She works in a nursing home, but it is not certain whether she got sick there. At that time she does not receive antibiotics from a (deputy) general practitioner. Four days later she has to go to the hospital.
Mother in ICU
Johanna will now receive the requested medicines. The next day, Wednesday April 15, she visits the hospital again. Conclusion: lung infection. She is in bad shape. Samuel has to support her all the time. But a hospital admission is not yet possible, “while I saw her suffer at home,” said Samuel.
The day after, Johanna deteriorates even further. In the evening she is admitted to intensive care. Her kidneys are slowly giving up. They also only test her there for corona, something that the family had been asking for since the first fever symptoms.
Two days later her pupils stop responding to light and the test results: corona. On April 21 at about seven o’clock in the evening, Johanna passed away in the presence of her two sons. “We have seen the heart rate monitor reach zero …”
Be without benefits
After her death, Samuel is officially an orphan. His life is turned upside down. But then fate strikes again: he has to leave his house. Samuel is a student and therefore only has a part-time job as an order picker. He is not entitled to an orphan’s benefit, because you must apply for this before you turn 21. He is also not eligible for housing benefit in the first instance.
Samuel does not have any money to pay the rent and he also has to leave the house within six months, because it is not to his name. The rent of the house he and his mother lived in costs more than 432.51 euros per month. Until the age of 23 you can only apply for housing benefit if the rent is less than that amount. It is therefore not profitable for Samuel and “moreover, this is a three-story house, just too big for me.”
Bright spots
In mid-May, Samuel decides to set up a crowdfunding campaign. He asks for a total amount of € 5,000 to cover the fixed costs and to make the search for a new home a little easier. “I don’t need much in that new home. A bed and a sofa are sufficient in the beginning, ”says Samuel.
At the beginning of the action, it is not yet storming. But then the power of social media comes into play: someone on curaçao sees the page passing by, warns a former classmate of Samuel and from that moment on it goes like a rocket.
Many acquaintances share the action on Facebook. Due to the many parts, a bright spot can be seen on the horizon: the counter stands at more than € 4,300. And there is some good news: “June 15 I will get the key to my new home” a somewhat happier Samuel says to Heart of the Netherlands. He also let us know that the Tax and Customs Administration wants to accommodate him with a partial rent allowance. For now he’s out of the fire.
No time for grief
Samuel has never had a moment to think about the loss of his mother, let alone mourn, “it all feels like a big blur.” But he does not want to point his finger at a possible culprit: “that is no use and is not necessary.”
In addition to the blow of death and all the hassle with the houses, he faces another challenge: this week the exams start for him. “I have seven this week and a few more next week. In the meantime, I also have to find time to move, ”said Samuel. Then hopefully he can finally find the peace to reflect longer and better on the death of his mother.
Photo: Samuel Hoepel
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