Doreen woman pens emotional letter to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on coronavirus impact
Emmilia O’Sullivan has been in and out of hospitals her whole life due to crippling health issues. Now, as coronavirus cases continue to rise, she has written an emotional letter to Daniel Andrews.
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A Doreen woman has detailed how the coronavirus pandemic is consuming the lives of everyday Australians in an emotional letter to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
Emmilia O’Sullivan writes about how the effects of COVID-19 are hitting her in “every direction” — from her health, business and finances, to her faltering sense of what is normal.
The 27-year-old has undergone kidney removal, reconstructive bladder surgery and a kidney transplant, and has suffered blood clots, bouts of pneumonia and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
She was rushed into ICU and intubated as recently as October when a blood infection took over her body — one of three serious blood invasions she’s suffered in her young life.
She also has multiple smooth muscle tumours.
“My immune system is comprised and vulnerable,” Ms O’Sullivan said.
“I have survived all of the above because we have an amazing hospital and health care system that I am so grateful for, however the scariest thing for me is the next time I require a hospital admission.
“Will there be a bed available? Will there be enough equipment and supplies?
“Will the hospital be overcrowded with COVID- 19 patients? Will I get COVID-19? Will the healthcare workers have to decide who is higher priority? Will I survive? I’m only 27?”
But Ms O’Sullivan said medical concerns were just the start of a long chain of fears and unanswered questions.
“This isn’t just a medical issue — this is a humanitarian crisis, we are all suffering,” she said.
Sales at her family-run shop in Mill Park, Rivergum Fish and Chips, have dropped 70 per cent during the pandemic.
She joined calls for a statewide lockdown of non-essential trading.
“Nothing is coming through the door,” she said.
“We are loosing money by staying open as we are creating unnecessary bills and are still expected to pay the rent and mortgage with little to no income.
“We are also risking our lives by operating, despite the social distancing and constant cleaning, we still have a chance of exposure.
“My parents run the business and I volunteer for them as they have sacrificed so much for me — they have gone without wages for the past 18 months, putting in 60 plus hours a week of blood, sweat and tears to build the business.”
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She said the only way their beloved fish and chip shop could make any money was through convincing customers about their thorough cleaning processes.
“We’ve had customers ringing in and asking about our cleaning operations and if they are thorough enough for them to want to place an order — it’s demoralising,” she said.
Ms O’Sullivan said she also had a home mortgage of about $450,000 with her husband, who was still working as a mechanic, but expected his work to dry up soon.
“He will be able to access the job seeker payment, however our mortgage payment is $1037 per fortnight because we are in a fixed term period and the bank refuses to change that without a $4000 penalty.
“The payment doesn’t leave us with much for our utility bills and my medication/medical costs — not to mention food.
“Again, we can defer our mortgage payments but we will just end up having to pay more interest later on in our lives, making it much harder for our future.”
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Ms O’Sullivan told the Leader she did not want sympathy from the letter, that she just wanted to make the Premier aware of the raw emotions and thoughts of an everyday Australian struggling through the global crisis.
“COVID-19 has left me with fear and no choice,” she said.
“We all have to worry about if we are going to loose everything we have worked so hard for.
“I appreciate all the hard work that has already gone in to flattening the curve but it’s not working.
“I also understand that the economy is also very important but is it more important than a human life?
“The economy can and will recover, a life lost will never be replaced.”