Danitza Vranjes unable to see her mother in Wodonga hospital before death after travelling from Sydney

Mrs Vranjes made the long drive from Sydney last Saturday morning after she was told by her sister the night before that the health of her mother, Anna Zagrovic, was rapidly deteriorating.

She arrived on the Border on Saturday afternoon but was unable to enter the acute ward at Wodonga hospital due to the public health order in place around visitation rights due to COVID-19.

Mrs Zagrovic died just a few hours later at around 7pm and all Mrs Vranjes could think about was the last time she heard her mother's voice - a brief phone call on the Tuesday.

"She didn't want to speak to me and she wasn't herself. She didn't know what she was saying, she was rambling," Mrs Vranjes said.

"I think I tried to call six times the next day, twice they told me she was asleep and the other four times the phone just rang out.

"I called her again on Saturday about 6.45pm because they wouldn't allow us in and I would hate for that call on Tuesday to be the last time I heard her voice, but they never answered.

"About 15 minutes after mum had died they called us and said we could come and see her because she had passed."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Mrs Vranjes said she was willing to be COVID tested before she entered the hospital and even wear full PPE in order to be by her mother's side.

"She was in a room on her own, so why couldn't we come in as we weren't going to be bothering anyone else? I just don't get it," she said.

"What was the difference between us seeing her on Saturday? We were willing to go in one at a time and spread it out a bit."

An Albury Wodonga Health spokesperson said given the high-risk nature of hospitals, restrictions were in place to protect patients, employees and also visitors.

"Our staff always work closely with families to explore opportunities for them to support their loved ones during these incredibly difficult times, and we were able to facilitate some local visitation in this particular case," the spokesperson said.

"At times the public health orders prevent us from doing as much as we would like, however supporting patients and their families at these critical moments will always remain our highest priority."

Mrs Vranjes hopes sharing her story will help other families who have lost loved ones during the pandemic.

"It's too late for us and we've put my mum to rest now, but it's going to stay with me because I didn't have a good conversation with my mum before she died," she said.

"My mum was a very happy woman and she'd always make jokes, even if she was in pain."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: