Pregnant Josanne dies of heart attack at 29

A YOUNG woman’s premonition that she would die young was realised last Monday morning when she succumbed to a heart attack in her bathroom.  However, she did not foresee the death of her unborn baby girl. The family of 29-year-old Josanne Hernandez, fondly called “Fatso” by her father, of Dickson Street, Maraval is mourning the untimely death of the Republic Bank, Independence Square employee, who was found lying on the ground just outside the bathroom of her home.  She was seven months pregnant.

According to Josanne’s mother, Christine Winnie Hernandez, her daughter had visited the doctor one week before her demise because her feet were swollen and had been assured that it was a normal occurrence during pregnancy. Mrs Hernandez said at around 5.45 am on Monday, Josanne went into the bathroom to take a shower in preparation for the workday ahead.  Some time later, Josanne’s sister Ann Marie Brown noticed someone lying on the floor. When she turned on the light she realised it was Josanne. Mrs Hernandez said they thought the expectant mother had fainted and called for assistance. But it was too late, she was already dead. A post mortem showed she had suffered a heart attack as a result of excessive protein in her urine.  “She always indicated that she would die in her youth,” her mother said.

Josanne, a data entry clerk and telephone operator, was described by her family as a zealous young woman who had a passionate love for children. She was engaged to be married, but had put her wedding plans on hold to focus on her unborn child. Although he was told of his daughter’s death by the family’s pastor, Josanne’s ailing father still has not accepted the fact that his “Fatso” is gone and keeps asking about her whereabouts. “He is waiting for me to confirm it,” his wife said. Mother and child were laid to rest on Thursday at the Maraval Cemetery, with the baby girl nestled in the only world she knew — her mother’s womb.