Published27. August 2024, 07:13
ZurichHis son (5) died at Escher-Wyss-Platz: “The images haunt me”
Shortly before Christmas 2022, a five-year-old boy was run over by a truck at Escher-Wyss-Platz in Zurich. Now the mother explains in an interview with “Sternstunde” on SRF how she experienced that day.
Vaughan
On December 21, 2022, a tragedy occurred at Escher-Wyss-Platz.
On the way to kindergarten, Tony, who was five years old at the time, was run over by a truck.
Tony’s mother, Susan Schmettkamp, talks to SRF about death, grief, and life.
“It’s hard to describe. It was traumatic. I was at a doctor’s appointment and got a call that Tony had been in a serious accident. I remember screaming immediately. “I thought something bad had happened and I ran to the accident site,” recalls Susanne Schmettkamp, Tony’s mother, who was involved in the accident on December 21, 2022.
I just kept screaming for an hour and a half
In an interview with Barbara Blesch, Schmettkamp says she was alone by herself and screamed “for probably an hour and a half.” SRF Program “Night Star Hour”Which was about death, sorrow and life.
A psychologist at the scene of the accident tried to talk to her. But she couldn’t handle it, Schmetkamp explains. “Friends, neighbors and my partner were more helpful. And a police officer who just held me and didn’t try to calm me down – that got to me more than words could.”
“The images haunt me”
Moderator Barbara Blish asks the mother if she often thinks about that day. She says she often does. “But the memories often come back to me, especially in the morning or on the road when I’m in traffic. The images haunt me and I find it hard to get rid of them.
“We remain the children of our parents, even after they have died.”
Susanne Schmettkamp said when asked if she is still a mother of five.
Susanne Schmettkamp lost a son almost eleven years ago. He died at birth in the hospital; the umbilical cord had ruptured. “This was also completely unexpected, but we were able to accompany him until his death in a safe environment at the children’s hospital – despite all the horrors, we spent magical moments with him, filled with love, peace and gratitude,” says Schmettkamp.
“Sometimes you have to protect yourself”
Schmettkamp, who is a philosopher, gave birth to a total of five children. Two of them died. Moderator Bleisch asks if she would still say she is a mother of five. “Yes, absolutely. We remain the children of our parents, even if they have died. Whether I communicate it that way or not depends on the situation and who the person I am talking to is – sometimes you have to protect yourself, sometimes you have to protect others.”
Schmettkamp gave an impressive and touching speech at her son’s funeral service. Barbara Blish asks where she found the strength for this emotional speech. “It came from my sense of responsibility and deep love for my son. I wanted to create a vivid, colorful picture of him for and with him and for everyone in attendance,” Schmettkamp explained in an emotional interview.
Are you grieving or is someone you know grieving?
offered a handAnxiety Hotline, tel 143
sealsorg.netIntroduced by the Reformed and Catholic Churches
Muslim pastoral careTelephone 043 205 21 29
lifewith.chFor affected siblings
Organization familiarizationbegleitung.ch
Rainbow Switzerland AssociationHelp for Grieving Families
for youthAdvice for children and youth, tel. 147
for old ageAdvising older people in difficult life situations
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