It does not sound promising but try to maintain the soil constantly moist (not wet or dry) until Spring. For a plant with moisture issues, translant shock and a compromised root system, constant soil moisture is what you should strive for. Cycles of wet and dry stress the shrub and can dry out the root ball; if this happens, the plant could be a goner. Wait until leaf out time in Spring to take any action. If it does not leaf out then you know for sure.

Since you have sandy soil, your normally need to add 50% more water always as a guideline. You also need to mix a lot of organic materials in the new soil because sand per se has very little plant food. Compost is a good amendment since it is organic, has lots of minerals and absorbs a lot of water when you wet it. I would not try to add fertilizers or compost to a plant that is so stressed yet; if it receovers, do so next year. If you dod not amend the sand when replanting then I would add either liquid seaweed or liquid fish when watering since these are weak fertilizers.

Some root hormone might have helped when transplanting (I would have used a weak version/solution, if you have a choice when buying it, since camellia roots are small and fibruous). An alternative is a product called Superthrive that I have not tried but some people like.

A sure way of telling if the shrub is still alive would be to prune well-selected stems in small increments (1/2" or 1") until you hit green.

Maintain 3-4" of mulch past the drip line to minimize having to water often and creating another problem such as fungal infections or root rot. Good luck, bevgooldy!

I have a similar problem. I transplanted a sasanqua kanjiro from a pot to the ground this year spring. We have clayish soil. It was not doing well. Its leaves turned brown and crispy and it looks dead by the summer. I tried to keep it watered even though everything was brown. I planned on replacing it with another one until two days ago, new growths showed up at 2 different places on the main stem. Just 2 leaves at each location but it looks like it was not totally dead after all. Is that possible?