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Supplied / Stuff
Robert van der Hayden, 60, has been reunited with his son Chris, 37, here with his grandson Cooper, 6, and his five-month-old granddaughter Luka.
After fighting with Australian federal border authorities and circumventing a questionable charter agreement, a Pukekohe father circumvented travel restrictions through Tasmania to reunite with his dying son.
It was a moment of disbelief when Robert van der Heyden came out of his quarantine to hug his son in front of his Perth hotel.
The meeting took more than two months for the 60-year-old man after his “son” Chris, 37, was diagnosed with terminal cancer on June 20.
“I just want to hug him, be there for him,” she said at the time.
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / THINGS
The family’s plan to visit their dying son in Perth failed.
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* Family $ 30k flight of mercy to see their dying son frustrated by questionable jet deal
* Singapore opens trips for kiwis
* Coronavirus: Singapore Airlines to resume services in New Zealand
Stuff covered the family’s ordeal at the time, including Robert’s frustrating round trip with Australian federal border authorities and the disappointment that ensued when the family’s $ 30k direct flight on a private jet turned out to be a questionable deal .
The hardest part, says Robert, was seeing his son, a fit and healthy man with a “contagious laugh,” undergo chemotherapy 5,000 km away.
“His face had just peeled as if he had been in the sun for three weeks without sunscreen … he told Donna (Robert’s wife and Chris’ stepmother) ‘I feel like I’m dying.’
CHRISTEL YARDLEY / Things
A month ago, Robert van der Heyden discovered that a 30k private jet ticket to see his son Chris van der Heyden, 37, terminally ill, was not legitimate.
Robert was wondering if he would see his son again when he received a lifebuoy in the form of a call from Dunedin travel agent Rosann Connelly-George, 50, who had read the Stuff story online.
“She said I can help you, that’s how we’re going to do it. I’ll get you there … she got me through the whole thing,” says Robert.
While border restrictions meant that flying directly to Perth from Auckland was off the table, there was another option via Singapore.
Supplied
Dunedin travel agent Rosann Connolly-George, 50, worked for two weeks so Robert could be with her son.
But it wasn’t as easy as reserving some tickets online.
Robert was able to transit through Singapore, but he couldn’t stay in the country for more than 24 hours, and with only 30 people allowed into Perth each day, flight times had to line up like Swiss clockwork.
“It only worked one day a week,” says Rosann.
“It was a matter of methodically going step by step… the process took two weeks from start to finish. Every day I would have been on the phone with someone fixing exemption documents or trying to sort out a medical form. “
Not only that, but a hotel room had to be arranged for Robert at Singapore’s Changi Airport, the alternative, Rosann says, was to wait in the “Covid room,” a small transit lounge for connecting passengers that Robert described as “sewer”.
But for Rosann the result was worth it, on August 10 they received the call, Robert would fly in three days.
Supplied
Robert van der Heyden at Auckland Airport.
“I told Robert ‘you are authorized to travel’, we both almost cried on the phone.”
On August 14, Robert landed at Perth Airport. He and other passengers were escorted by six police cars with flashing lights to their quarantine hotel.
On August 28, two weeks later “to the minute,” Robert finally hugged his son.
In the end, the trip cost NZ $ 7,200, but Rosann didn’t charge him a penny.
“It wasn’t about money at all… it was just ‘this guy has to see his son’ I’m a mother, I know how that feels, ‘” says Rosann.
From the sofa in his son’s home, Robert smiles as he describes the past few days with his son and grandchildren.
“It was very special. Luka (granddaughter) started crawling two days before I got here, Cooper (grandson), he’s 6 and 12 … he’s a great guy.
“I haven’t processed it yet and I don’t think I will for a while,” says Robert.
“But at least I’m here.”
Supplied / Stuff
Robert van der Hayden, 60, has joined his son Chris, 37, here they are at Opus Stadium watching an Australian Football League game.
