Lisa Dallow went on a vacation with her loving husband and their teen daughter, but little did she know then that they will not be returning home with her.
An Australian family was vacationing in New Zealand when the worst tragedy fell upon them. On December 9, 2019, a volcano eruption in New Zealand tore the Dallow family apart forever.
Following the accident, Lisa Dallow went into a medically induced coma for two months, PEOPLE reported. But when she woke up she realized that it's only her who survived the disaster. The 48-year-old woman, who was happily married and on a holiday just a few days earlier, was told she had lost her husband and daughter forever. Lisa, who was being treated for her burns at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, was informed by her family that her husband, Gavin and 15-year-old Zoe did not survive the accident.
Tragically, Lisa could not remember any of the events leading up to the coma. One can only imagine the pain of being happily married and with a loving daughter one moment and realizing they were gone the next
“She remembers it exploding and then telling everyone to run. She then recalled how rocks were falling everywhere and hitting her on the back. She remembers thinking ‘when are they going to come and rescue us?’ The next thing she knows is she is in hospital and wondering where she was,” said a spokesperson.
A representative of the family revealed that it was a massive shock for Lisa. “It took her a while for it to sink in and then she just kept saying she can’t believe they have died,” said the representative.
Lisa's father-in-law, Brian Dallow, revealed to the media that Lisa is traumatized and therefore, they are very careful about anything they have to say to her. “We’ve got to be careful with anything we say to her because she’s very traumatized by what happened and it’s quite emotional,” stated Dallow.
Furthermore, Lisa could not even say a final goodbye to her family. Trying to comes to terms with a reality that does not have her family in itself would have been like living her worst nightmare. And not being able to see the faces of her teen daughter and husband is probably an addition to the trauma she was already going through.
Mom Wakes Up from Coma 2 Months After New Zealand Volcano Eruption to Learn Her Family Has Died https://t.co/0s3RX74ylu
— People (@people) February 12, 2020
Her family members stated that as Lisa could not be a part of her husband's funeral service, they delayed Zoe's service in the hopes that she would be able to say goodbye at least to her daughter. However, Lisa did not seem to do well, so, they had to go ahead with Zoe's service too. The bereaved mother lost her last opportunity to bid her last goodbye to her loved ones.
“Obviously Lisa had no input into Gavin’s funeral. So they [family] want her to be able to have a bit of a say, even though she won’t be able to attend, in what she wants for Zoe,” said Lisa’s sister-in-law Meredith Dallow to Herald. She continued, "It means she hasn’t been able to attend her husband’s funeral or Zoe’s funeral. All she can do is watch the video.”
While it is almost impossible for anyone to even fathom what Lisa must be going through or what she will face in the future without her family, one can only hope she will find the courage to go on with her life and allow the memories of her husband and daughter to motivate and encourage her to heal from the emotional trauma.
References:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12306730
https://people.com/human-interest/mom-wakes-up-from-coma-after-new-zealand-volcano-eruption-to-learn-family-died/
