Stolen Goodbyes

Martin and wife Pamela had seven wonderful years together before he fell ill with Covid 19 while working as a speech and language pathologist in New Jersey in the United States. In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Pamela recounts how the couple met online and describes how inspiring Martin was as a husband, father and medical professional. Martin fell ill with a cough before being admitted to hospital where the initial feedback was very positive. However,his condition deteriorated, and the day he was supposed to get off the ventilator, he contracted an infection. He was just 44 when he died in April this year. Pamela relates how a nurse held his hand while Pamela spoke to him over the phone from home. The nurse told her that Martin squeezed her hand when Pamela told him she loved him. Pamela struggles with the sadness she feels about the fact their children, a two-year-old daughter and a five month old son, will never know their father. She also worries about their financial future now that Martin is gone.

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Georgina Forsythe from Warwickshire who lost her fireman father John to Covid 19 on May 7 2020.John caught the virus while on a cruise to South America with his wife Linda where they were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. The couple went ahead with the trip at the beginning of March after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised that it was safe to do so.A cruel and inhumane set of circumstances ensued which saw Linda forced to leave her sick husband behind in a hospital in Miami while she caught a last flight back to the UK.John later died from the virus more than 4,000 miles from home. He was 63.

In this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen speaks to Linsey Simmonds in the Rhondda Valley in Wales who lost her father, Kevin Morgans, to COVID-19 on May 3 2020. He was 65.Linsey speaks with a beautiful fondness about her popular father who was due to move into a granddad flat at the back of her home where he looked forward to being woken up by his young grandson every morning.An anguished Linsey describes how the hospital spent a month saying her dad would be coming home with a care plan before suddenly deciding to move him onto a Covid ward because he was having seizures although he had not tested positive for Covid. There was next to no communication from the hospital for a month when Linsey learned her father had signed a Do Not Resuscitate form without her knowledge.Linsey believes her father ticked too many boxes to fight for in the eyes of the hospital.

In this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen talks to Shelly Weeks from Somerset, who lost her husband Roy to COVID-19 on April 11 2020. He was 73 years old. She describes the devotion the couple shared through the years despite nae sayers claiming the age gap between them meant the romance was doomed to fail. Shelly is angry and dissatisfied at the standard of care her husband, who suffered from dementia, received in the care home where he was resident. Her pain was compounded by the fact that following Roy's death, the home sent her a report she says was “full of lies”. Shelly also received a bill for chiropody treatment, dated before he arrived at the home.Shelly is determined to get justice for Roy.

On this episode of the Stolen Goodbyes podcast, Karen speaks to Neil Robinson from Durham who lost his ‘whirlwind’ partner Susan Porter to COVID-19 on May 1 2020. She was 58. Neil talks about some of the favourite memories he shared with Susan from as early as their teenager years to a chance encounter a decade later that resulted in them reuniting for 30 years. Neil struggles with emotion as he describes how Susan fell ill and was hospitalised with Covid 19. Her condition improved for a time before she took a turn for the worse. Neil’s voice breaks as he tells how Susan thought she was going to die and how they had to discuss her final wishes. Neil wanted to be with Susan at the end but a nurse held her hand as she passed. Neil watched through a hospital ward window as she slipped away. In their last conversation, Susan told Neil: "I love you, I’ll beat this and I’ll see you on the other side (of the illness)."

On this episode of Stolen Goodbyes, Karen speaks to Eileen McNamee from Scotland who lost her mother Anna to COVID-19 on May 21 2020. Anna had been a fit 91-year-old who travelled the world cycling with her husband in years gone by. Eileen relives some of her favourite memories as well as describing her mother’s battle with the unforgiving virus.Anna recounts how her elderly father didn’t want any carers coming into the house when he learned about the pandemic. To protect him, the family decided against telling him his wife had later contracted and died from Covid 19. Eileen is left with sadness, despair, grief and worry and wishes people understood how tough it is to lose a loved one under these circumstances.