Pharmacist who loved everyone dies alone from coronavirus

NICOLA MILTZ

Their heartache was made more unbearable by the notable absence of their mother, who had spent her entire adult life by his side. She is alone in hospital with the same cruel virus that took her husband of 51 years.

One lone family member who arrived to pay his respects said kaddish for retired pharmacist, Maurice Laffer, 80, who became the first member of the South African Jewish community to die from the virus. The Chevrah Kadisha made up the minyan.

This was surely not the send-off befitting an honourable, hardworking, loving man described by everyone as a “true mensch”. It was the brutal, lonely face of COVID-19 which robbed the family of all the usual comforting mourning rituals of human touch and face-to-face communal support.

Added to its immeasurable grief is the family’s concern that Maurice may have contracted the virus during a recent stay at a Sandton hospital. His daughters were fastidious about protecting their parents from the virus. They wrapped them in cotton wool, and ran circles around them refusing to let them out the house.

Maurice got sick in late March, and went to hospital for a couple of days complaining of chest pain. He went back to hospital on 7 April, and was placed in the intensive care unit (ICU).

“He had fluid around his heart and a small clot on his lung,” said his wife, Pearl,73. She said he twice tested negative for COVID-19 and was put in the ICU, away from the coronavirus ward. No visitors were allowed. He showed slow signs of recovery, and was eager to go home.

On 14 April, the day he was discharged, the hospital released a statement to the media confirming that 12 staff members including seven healthcare workers had tested positive for COVID-19. The numbers testing positive steadily increased.

According to the family, they weren’t contacted by the hospital after he was discharged. “To this day, no track-and-trace protocols have been followed,” said Maurice’s eldest daughter, Beverley Greenhill.

“My mom nursed my father at home without wearing a mask or gloves. She would have taken precautions had she known he may have been exposed,” she said.

The family believe his medical treatment up until he was diagnosed with coronavirus fell short of the standard of care he exercised as a pharmacist his entire working life.

“My parents were in strict lockdown,” Beverley said. “They went to follow-up appointments, and my father kept complaining of shortness of breath. He was told he was fine. But his symptoms grew worse.”

Eventually he was rushed to a different hospital in the area, Netcare Sunninghill Hospital on Sunday, 26 April, where he tested positive.

He died two days later.

Maurice was a cancer survivor who still enjoyed daily walks.

“He told me it was his wish before he died one day to be in Israel for Yom Ha’atzmaut [Israel Independence Day],” said Pearl.

Sadly, he died at the start of this year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations in Jerusalem.

The family wants to remember the way he lived – his gentle demeanour, kindness, integrity, and decades of taking the utmost care – not how he died, alone, with no family at his bedside.

They are tormented by images of him in his final hours.

“We couldn’t see him, we couldn’t hug him to say goodbye,” said Beverley.

Her younger sister, Michelle Laffer-Liebson, said, “To know that he suffered after he helped so many unconditionally will haunt me until the end of my days.”

The chief clinical officer of the hospital where Maurice may have contracted the virus said that since the declaration of the pandemic, it had introduced stringent measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19, and had “acted swiftly in order to mitigate the risk to all involved”.

“Close to 1 000 staff members, allied health professionals, supporting staff, and doctors were tested, with the majority of these [90%] returning negative results,” the hospital said in a statement to the SA Jewish Report. In total, 90 individuals returned a positive result, four of these being staff members working in ICU. All associated doctors at the hospital tested negative.”

It confirmed that 83 people had recovered, with only two currently being treated in hospital.

“The thought that my father may have contracted this in hospital is horrifying,” said Beverley, “There are so many unanswered questions about the protocols followed.”

Speaking from her hospital bed at Netcare Sunninghill Hospital, Pearl said, “When I was admitted, I asked to see the bed where Maurice lay. I felt a bit of peace. The same excellent team who looked after my Maurice now looks after me. They were there when he took his last breath.”

She recounted how she and her husband had been business partners throughout their marriage, and had never left each other’s side.

They began their journey in Maurice’s home town, Brakpan, where Maurice opened Benn’s Pharmacy. They then moved to Johannesburg, where they opened Manor Pharmacy at the Morning Glen Shopping Centre in Gallo Manor. Then they bought the popular Galleon Pharmacy in Hyde Park Shopping Centre.

Ruth Lasarow, who did her internship at Manor Pharmacy, said, “Maurice treated everyone as if they were the most important person. He made people feel special.”

Shelley Sass, who did her internship at Galleon Pharmacy, said, “Maurice taught me everything I know today. He was a scholar and a gentleman, a true mensch who loved everyone.”

Rabbi Mordechai Abraham of Tzedoka Vechesed became friendly with Maurice about 20 years ago when Maurice was undergoing treatment for cancer.

“He was one of the most humble, selfless people I have ever met. We enjoyed each other’s company very much. I was broken when I heard he passed away.”

Joan Struck said on Facebook, “He was always so kind and beyond caring. One day, the night nurse left my father-in-law’s insulin out of the fridge. Maurice opened his pharmacy early, and hand delivered the insulin to my house. What a tzadik [righteous person].”

The family has expressed its deepest gratitude to Hatzolah, Dr Richard Friedland of Netcare, and the staff at Sunninghill Hospital, and Dr Despina Andreanis.

“We are grateful to friends and the community who have showered us with so much love, albeit from afar. Our father always told us life is for living, one never knows.”