Another Ghanaian nurse in the United States (UN) has died from coronavirus after she contracted the disease while on admission at the hospital.
Doreen Tay, a product of the St Mary’s Senior High School at Korle Gonno in Accra, died on April 21, 2020.
She is the third Ghanaian nurse working abroad known to have died from COVID-19. While Freda Ocran died on March 28 in New York, a heavily pregnant 28-year-old, Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, died shortly after testing positive to coronavirus on April 12.
Madam Tay reportedly fell ill on March 14 and was rushed to the Albert Einstein Montefiore Medical Centre in New York where she worked.
Unfortunately, the 43-year-old nurse contracted coronavirus and passed on within five weeks.
Born in Ghana, she graduated from the Jersey College School of Nursing in 2017. While alive, she combined two jobs as a full time Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at the Montefiore Medical Centre, and part-time at Throgs Neck Rehabilitation and Nursing Centre, also in New York.
She graduated from Merries in Accra in the 1994/95 academic year. Her classmate, Akua Asare-Dua Ampofo, remembers her for being a very jovial person who was always excited about something.
“You will just love her personality,” she recalled in an interview.
To celebrate her, the former International Central Gospel Church chorister, Joel Bo Djanie and the McOlives Ministries, where she worshipped in New York, are organising a fundraiser, using Gofundme.
“Our goal is to raise as much as possible within two weeks. All funds will be turned over to the family,” the message accompanying the account said.
ALSO: Ghanaian nurse dies of Covid-19 [Video]
She left behind a husband of 14 years and two kids – Rachel and Derron, 13 and 11 years old, respectively.
Mr Djanie, who attends the same church— McOlives Ministries—with her described her as a kind and generous person in an emotional tribute.
“If there was a formula for life, where good, generous, kind people lived on forever, Doreen would surely be one of them – but sadly, there isn’t. We all move on. We leave this world and embrace what the next has for us. In leaving however, we leave behind all our loved ones – and the only lingering resemblance of life left for anyone to hold on to, are the shared memories. Fortunately, Doreen left us a lot of that.
“As a woman of God, she reminded us of how selfless and purposeful we should live.
At work, her patients were her only priority, and she provided them with the utmost in nursing care to ensure their safety and well-being. In doing so, she challenged her co-workers to also strive for high standards.
“But Doreen was first, and foremost a family woman who loved her husband and kids dearly. They’ll remember the many birthdays she celebrated with them, the countless hours she spent helping with homework, and the sweet sound of her voice at night while she read them the bible, and sang them to sleep.
“But more than anything, they’ll remember how it feels to be loved by a mother, and a wife. Though they’ll never understand the sacrifices she’s made for them, they’ll be a living reminder of all her goodness,” he said.
Mr Djanie said she captured the heart of everyone she came across.
“But unfortunately, her death also leaves the family with some grave concerns.
Our hope is to generate enough money to help with her funeral expenses, and to provide for her kids as generously as God will. Your gift, in whatever amount, will go a long way to ease their concerns, and help them cope with this crisis,” he said as he rallied support for his departed church member.
The account has so far raised $5,000.