TRAGEDY struck a Zimbabwean nurse based here when her mother collapsed, hours after arriving from Zimbabwe, and later died in hospital. The family intended to celebrate Christmas together and have a holiday vacation. Mavis Manyonga (57) arrived in Ireland on December 2 just after midday. She collapsed the following morning at 1145 hours and was put on a life support system, which was switched off five days later.
Her grief-stricken daughter, Vallerie Munashe Makuwe, said: “I am just lost in this world at the moment, I don’t even know what is happening. My mom was in good health except for the hypertension she was diagnosed of years back. “She was even managing her condition all these years.” Munashe said she had last seen her mother in February of 2022 and invited her to visit for the Christmas holiday and for her birthday celebrations.
She left Harare on December 1 and arrived here the following day. “Everything was normal when l went to welcome her at the airport. I bought her balloons and it was happiness galore as we drove home to Letterkenny. “That night, she complained of jet lag and asked for only a cup of hot water. “I stayed with her in her bedroom until she fell asleep. I also then retired to bed in my room.” The next morning, when she was taking a bath, tragedy struck. “Whilst in the shower, my mom called out, ‘Munashe! Munashe, please come down.”
“l quickly dried myself thinking that there was a fire, only to find her on the floor and she was sweating. “I removed the jersey she was putting on and asked my child to hand me my phone as l rang the paramedics. “The paramedics swiftly responded because I stay in the vicinity of Letterkenny University Hospital. “Three ambulances came and the resuscitation process commenced.”
However, her mother’s condition deteriorated and she died in hospital.
