A Montreal snowbird met a horrible end in the Caribbean during the holiday season by succumbing to an explosion that left him in agony for nearly a week.
“It’s like unreal. We had great times together. At least I was able to tell him I love you one last time when I left,” whispers Sara-Maude Désy, 22, on the line, still shaken by the nightmare she has been living for two weeks.
On the morning of December 27, his father, Alain Désy, a resident of Pointe-aux-Trembles, was the victim of an explosion that burned 90% of his body in the Dominican Republic, according to a doctor’s report from the Cabarete Medical Center. .
Alain Désy, deceased.
Photo courtesy of Sara-Maude Désy
“He was so bloated that I wouldn’t have recognized him if they hadn’t told me it was him,” describes with sadness his only daughter, who lives in Val-David, in the Laurentians.
The 54-year-old man was then in an apartment where he was temporarily staying, in Cabarete, in the north of the island.
Visit at Christmas
For a number of years, the semi-retiree had spent his winters in the same rented condominium. However, on December 26, it had to be relocated by the owner of the place, for only a few days.
Condominium in which the explosion occurred.
Photo courtesy of Sara-Maude Désy
His daughter and her partner had shared the start of the holiday season with him. They had just left him to take the plane, the day before the tragedy.
“I remember the last moment when he waved at me. I called him back from the airport, to tell him that I loved him, before he fell asleep,” says Sara-Maude.
From 2e floor
According to what was reported to the latter, Mr. Désy accidentally forgot to turn off the gas on the stove in his temporary home that evening.
“The next morning, he turned on a light and it caused an explosion,” she explains.
His father would then have had no other choice than to throw himself head first outside, smashing the window, before falling from the second floor.
The car salesman was then transported to a hospital, where he then suffered until 1er January, the day he died following a cardiac arrest.
“The doctor said it was a miracle that he survived more than 72 hours. He suffered third degree burns. His rehabilitation would have taken a very long time,” explains Sara-Maude Désy, who quickly returned to her father’s bedside.
“I know he wouldn’t have wanted to live like that. He was a proud man, who loved to poop. He had a big ego. He had already told me that if something bad happened to him, he would rather die. That would have been his wish,” she said.
Sara-Maude Désy, daughter of the deceased.
Photo courtesy of Sara-Maude Désy
Without insurance
Furthermore, the young special education student launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her avoid the expensive costs generated by her father’s care and the repatriation of his ashes. He had no insurance.
His daughter estimated the total costs at around $45,000.
“I don’t have that money at my disposal,” she explains. My father’s partner is helping me with the process, but she is upset. I try to manage with the money I can find.”
-With Olivier Faucher