Tragedy as ‘warm and bubbly’ young mother dies on operating table during surgery to relieve painful condition
- A 34-year-old mother died during her third back surgery
- Rebecca Kovalik had celebrated her birthday eight days earlier
- Her loved ones are in the dark about how she “bleed out” and died
A 34-year-old mother who “lit the room” has died suddenly on the operating table during surgery to relieve painful nerve damage on her back.
Rebecca Kovalik was admitted to hospital in NSW on June 9 for the surgery – her third surgery on her spine.
But the South West Sydney mother tragically bled to death during the procedure, leaving behind her husband Jay and their three-year-old son Orlando.
Her devastated loved ones are still in the dark about the cause of the death of the “warm and sparkling” mother.
Friend and colleague Ally Skelly said they will have to wait for the coroner’s report to find out exactly what happened.
The mother of one Rebecca Kovalik (pictured) tragically bled to death during the procedure, leaving behind her husband Jay and their three-year-old son Orlando.
The child educator is survived by her husband Jay and their three-year-old son Orlando (pictured together)
“Essentially there was something that was causing her to bleed and it was just too much and she bled to death,” Ms Skelly shared Yahoo News Australia.
“Of course there are risks with any operation, but in the end you don’t really think anyone is going to die.
“You think there’s a chance of paralysis, you don’t expect death.”
Ms Kovalik, who fathered her son Orlando through IVF, planned to undergo it again for a second child as she recovered from this latest surgery.
She and Jay had struggled for “a long time” to have their son and had one embryo left.
Ms. Skelly said the child educator loved children and always had great ideas for things to do with the children.
Heartbroken friends and family posted tributes to the swim instructor calling her “the best mom” with “an infectious laugh.”
“I know it sounds cliché, but Bec lit up the room,” a friend posted on social media on Friday.
‘[She] had an infectious laugh and once she started she couldn’t stop. She was full of love… for everyone.”
The friend added that her fondest memory is when Jay popped the question in such a great way that he “showed every man proposing to his partner.”
“We love and miss you so much, Bec. Gone way too soon, but will forever hold a place in our hearts,” her friend Ally Skelly wrote on her GoFundMe page (pictured Ms. Kovalik with a younger Orlando).
“These two were the epitome of a true love story,” she wrote.
Thanks for all the laughter and friendship. This doesn’t feel real.’
Her older brother Jeff Trevena recalled that she was great at organizing large family gatherings, which was no easy task.
‘[She had a] passion for her cousins and always wanting to make sure she gets the whole family together…aunts, uncles and cousins and grandparents,” he said.
Mrs. Skelly started one GoFundMe page to give her friend “the goodbye she deserves,” while supporting Jay and Orlando with medical expenses and mortgage payments.
“And everything else that comes with these terrible tragedies,” she said.
The crowdfunding page had raised a whopping $19,083 by Saturday, surpassing the $15,000 goal.
Ms Skelly posted a heartwarming tribute to the mother on the page.
“We love and miss you so much, Bec. Gone way too soon, but will forever hold a place in our hearts,” she wrote.