THE day her life changed in a heartbeat is imprinted on her memory forever.
Her husband, an entrepreneur in the fruit industry, was in Johannesburg on business while she kept the home fires burning in Paarl in the Western Cape.
She tried to get hold of him on the Friday but his phone went unanswered. “It was strange,” Amanda du Toit says. “Eion and I usually spoke six to eight times a day and suddenly there was just silence.”
Still, she was a busy mom of three young kids and there was plenty to do. Emma, the middle child, had lost a tooth and Amanda told herself to calm down and get her daughter to the dentist – Eion was probably just busy.
But when she still hadn’t heard anything by Sunday, she became frantic with worry. She tracked down the number of the guesthouse where he was staying and the owner said she’d check his room.
Fifteen minutes later Amanda’s phone rang. “I have terrible news,” the proprietor said. “Your husband died in his room.”
Amanda felt the bottom drop out of her world.
“My brain literally ached – I thought I was having a stroke or something. I didn’t know what to do. We’d been married for 17 years and had built a life together. Now he was gone.”
Eion (50) had had a massive heart attack and for three weeks Amanda was in such a state she couldn’t decide what to do about his body. In the end she had him cremated then geared herself up to start the admin involved when someone dies.
And soon it became apparent her husband’s death wasn’t the only shock in store. Eion had left her with practically nothing – he had no life insurance and no signed will.
Esta historia es de la edición 5 December 2019 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición 5 December 2019 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
HOW TO BE YOUR OWN THERAPIST
With more and more of us struggling with our mental health, here's a common-sense guide to coping with life's ups and downs
SPUD: THE MAGIC CONTINUES
John van de Ruit tells us why he decided to write a sequel - and shares how his first book helped him find enduring love
SEX CONTRACT GONE WRONG
A Cape Town couple have been charged with using a young woman as a sex slave-but some say she lost the job she signed up for and now has a grudge against them
LIAM LAID TO REST
More than a month after One Direction singer LIAM PAYNE (31) tragically fell to his death from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, his loved ones finally got to say their goodbyes.
SHILOH HANGS OUT
THE two young women look like any pair of good friends chatting and laughing as they leave their dance class in Los Angeles.
LEO IN LOVE
He's just turned 50 and it seems Leonardo DiCaprio may finally be ready to settle down
PACKING A PUNCH
Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it
I DIDN'T CHOOSE TO BE A LOVE CHILD
As the illegitimate daughter of the king, she fought to be recognised as part of Belgium's royal family, but Princess Delphine says she still feels unwelcome
'I STILL HAVE NIGHTMARES'
A bite from a spitting cobra 13 years ago nearly killed her but Mikayla survived - and she's made peace with her scars
THE CLAWS ARE OUT!
Things have grown frosty between the Beckhams and the Sussexes as Becks comes out in clear support of William