Sudden loss

On Christmas Day 2018 54-year-old Donna Holder spent the day undergoing tests at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) after she collapsed at her Allen View, Welchman Hall, St Thomas home that morning while preparing for church.

Her daughter Rudy Holder, 33, confirmed that at that time her mother was diagnosed with a “slight” heart murmur.

Yesterday, she collapsed and died while on the job at Fabric Solutions Dry Cleaners in Warrens Industrial Park, St Michael.

“The people at work say that she kept saying that she was extremely hot and she was eating ice and then she just fell. When they hollered for her they say she didn’t respond. She took two last breaths and that was it,” Rudy said.

The sudden death has thrown Holder’s family into a state of shock and sadness, especially Rudy and her sister 31-year-old Annosia Holder and their children.

Rudy told Barbados TODAY that Holder was a caring and loving mother who worked hard to raise her children as best as she could, even working multiple jobs at one point to ensure their needs were met.

Rudy said that her mother, who attended the Bridgefield New Testament Church of God, always encouraged them to follow the right path in life.

The deceased who would have celebrated her birthday in a matter of weeks, was also a loving grandmother to 11-year-old Rakiah, Kiara, eight, and three-year-old Jaden.

The daughter also said she was saddened that she would not be able to see the smile on her mother’s face when Rakiah’s Barbados Secondary Schools’ Entrance Examination (BSSEE) results return.

“Rakiah would say she going Queens [College]. And she would say that Rakiah going Queens because she just had that feeling. But now she wouldn’t even know what school she would pass for. She wouldn’t get to see her graduate or anything. My mother was a gem, we will definitely miss her, without a doubt,” Rudy said.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb