A pair of brothers have been left devastated after a quadruple tragedy in which all four of their grandparents were killed by coronavirus.
Kevin Luwel, 33, and Kenneth, 28, from Belgium, said they barely had time to come to terms with the fact that their first grandparent died before the second, third, and fourth deaths happened.
Kevin said: 'When we lost the first one, we were, of course, sad, but it really hit us when we lost the second one. When it happened a third time, it became incomprehensible. But now with the fourth death, it's just too much. Too much, too fast.'
Their grandfather Eduard 'Warkel' Luwel, from Rummen, was the first to contract the killer bug, which the brothers suspect the 86-year-old caught during kidney dialysis treatment. After a short battle with the virus, he died on March 31.
Tragically Eduard's wife Jacqueline Cuypers, 80, had just received the devastating news her husband had died when she was told she also had the bug.
Her health rapidly deteriorated and was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties.
'There she was alone in her room, fighting for her life, while she had to deal with her husband's death. That was hell for us as a family. We could call and video chat with her, but still. That's not the same,' Kevin said.
Jacqueline succumbed to the virus after nine days in hospital, unable to see family or friends because of social distancing measures.
The brothers said they 'sincerely thought' their grandma would survive the illness, but she passed away after nine days in hospital shortly after her husband also died from coronvirus
The brothers said they were floored by their grandma's death and 'sincerely thought' she would survive.
'She thought so too. We were even laughing with her on day five. She had every reason to carry on living. Her newest great-grandchild is on the way. She definitely wanted to get to know the baby,' Kevin said.
They were able to speak with their grandma over video chat one last time before she died.
Jef Vanhaeren was the third grandparent to die, and succumbed to the virus at home, shortly after his diagnosis. The brothers said he refused to go to hospital because he didn't want to die alone
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