Quarantined man denied right to see dying mum who was given a week to live in Queensland
A terminally ill mother in Queensland has been denied the right to see her youngest son, as he begins his first night in a two-week coronavirus quarantine.
Anneli Marttila, 78, has been diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer and given a week to live.
But her youngest son Marko is being denied a final reunion.
After a six-month battle to get to Brisbane from the US, Marko arrived on a Qantas flight from Los Angeles this morning.
“This was like a mercy mission,” he told 9News.
Despite a letter from a doctor detailing Anneli’s declining condition, Marko said Queensland Health had rejected two exemptions that would have allowed him to see his dying mother.
“They just said, as per the guideline this is how they do it, and they didn’t really want to budge,” Marko said.
Anneli’s sister Auli is doing her best to reunite the pair, but hope is slowly fading.
“All you have to do is look at my sister’s face, and know that she is going to pass soon, and it would mean the world to her,” she said.
Marko’s brother Seppo said he couldn’t understand the government’s decision.
“You have other people like politicians, millionaires and actors … it’s alright for them to go home and quarantine in their place, why can’t my younger brother? He has limited time,” he said.
