With Valentine’s Day and the month of love upon us, we are given ample opportunities to remember and appreciate those we love while strengthening bonds and persevering through all odds, together. Lee and Frans Heyman know this all too well after a series of tragedies tested their own love and even their faith.
In 2013, all seemed well as the couple eagerly awaited the arrival of their second child – a girl who was to be named Thay – while their son, two-year-old Seth, couldn’t wait to be a big brother. However, it was a quick downhill as Lee’s due date drew near. “I was admitted to hospital in my 35th week of pregnancy,” recalled Lee, still raw with emotion.
“I had severe abdominal pain and a fever, and I was admitted to hospital for three days for observation. Then, on 7 January, I was back home and felt perfectly fine. A few days later, I could feel that something was not right. I couldn’t feel my baby move. I then rushed to the hospital and the doctor did a scan. A heart monitor was put on me and I was told that there was no movement or heartbeat,” said Lee.
She further explained that her husband, Frans, was working out of town so she phoned him and tried to contain her emotions as she told him that he had to come to the hospital and that the baby was going to be delivered.
“I did not tell him that there was no heartbeat until he arrived at the hospital. He was absolutely shattered when he heard the news. He was crying, in shock, and just pacing up and down,” said Lee.
Baby Thay was then delivered and the couple had a chance to hold her and say a heartbreaking goodbye. After being on antidepressants for six months, Lee then began to get her life back together. As time went on, another tragedy struck when Frans was involved in a near fatal accident.
“Frans was working in a mine in Dundee and we had just moved to Newcastle. He left very early on his motorbike because it was quicker and more affordable on fuel. About 20 minutes after he left, I received a call that he had been involved in an accident. I literally went ice-cold and thought that I was going to lose my husband as well,” said Lee.
Frans was hit from behind by a bread-delivery van while stationary at a red traffic light. The scene before her was her beloved husband, lying on the road, while his bike lay metres away as he slipped in and out of consciousness.
He was then transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital and his injuries included five chest fractures, two broken ribs, seven lower-back fractures, eight hip and pelvic fractures, a broken thumb and a punctured kidney. As if that was not enough, Frans had also suffered a major heart attack.
“I was unhappy with the care that was being given to him so I discharged him myself and I had to sign a disclaimer saying that if he died en route to another hospital, I would be charged with culpable homicide but I knew I had to move him,” said Lee.
Frans spent a good few weeks in ICU at a private hospital and in high care for another four weeks. As Frans recovered, the couple say that everything they’ve been through has helped solidify their relationship.
“We ended up rekindling our love all over again.” In July of 2014, the couple welcomed a daughter, Ane`.
That was not the last of it for the couple, however and when Covid-19 hit, it left both Frans and Lee battling to recover with Frans at Death’s door once again. The couple say that they have learned that love is all you need to get through tough times and the best advice that they have to give to other couples is to never let the sun go down on your anger.
“We always say ‘I love you’ and never take a day for granted,” they concluded.
The Heymans join management and staff of the Newcastle Express in wishing our advertisers and readers a very special Valentine’s Day filled with love and compassion.
