‘Unless we get a grip and everyone starts playing their part, nothing is going to change’: Daughter who watched her father, 63, die from Covid in hospital issues emotional plea to the public and describes being unable to wipe her tears through PPE
- Laura Waller, 26, shared a post on social media describing her father’s death
- Kevin Waller passed away five days after admitted to Southend Hospital in Essex
- Ms Waller urged people to follow the rules and ‘stop playing roulette’ with virus
A grieving daughter has urged the country to ‘stop playing roulette’ with Covid-19 and follow government advice after she watched her father die from the virus just two days before Christmas.
Laura Waller, 26, posted a heart-wrenching plea to the nation on social media after her 63-year-old father Kevin died on December 23.
Ms Waller described how the disease took hold of her father’s body within five days of his admission to Southend Hospital in Essex and left with him kidney and liver failure.
In her post, in which Ms Waller was pictured wearing PPE, she wrote: ‘This isn’t me on my way to some messed up fancy dress party.
Laura Waller (pictured in PPE), 26, urged the country to listen to government advice after she watched her 63-year-old father Kevin die just two days before Christmas Day at Southend Hospital in Essex
‘This is me leaving the ICU shortly after giving permission to the consultants to turn off my Dad’s life support after COVID had completely taken hold of his body and left him with a burst lung and kidney and liver failure, within five days of his admission.
‘This is me unable to wipe my own tears due to the amount of protective equipment I was required to wear to even be allowed to enter the ward. But, at least I was in.
‘I was in whilst my poor brother had to sit at home and say goodbye to his Dad and best friend on FaceTime due to the ”one in” rule. I’m upset. And I’m angry.
‘The nurses and doctors fighting this what seems to be losing battle are upset and angry.
‘As I walk in, the consultant turns to me and says ”We’ve had enough. We’ve just had enough”.
‘They later tell me that they lost a gentlemen that morning, and were preparing to lose his wife later that evening. Their eyes filled with tears as they explain they are doing everything they can. They feel like they have failed. But they haven’t failed. They have done everything but.
‘A year after we all learnt of this ”new” virus called COVID, this shouldn’t still be happening. How is it even possible for it to get so out of control, again.
‘Because of COVID, I will have no one to walk me down the aisle and my parents table will be empty.
‘Because of COVID, my children will now not only never meet their Nan, but they will never meet their grandad either.
‘Because of COVID, my 85-year-old Nan has had to say goodbye to her only remaining child after previously losing her other 40 years earlier. Because of COVID, I am now left with no parents at the age of 26.
‘We can sit around and blame this person or that person. We can say we didn’t have enough knowledge or ”well I thought it would be fine”. Well guess what, it’s not fine.
‘Unless we as a country, and every single one of us in it, gets a grip and starts playing their part, nothing is going to change and it will be multiple other heartbroken families announcing their loss, every day, for months.
Ms Waller shared a wedding picture of her mother, who passed away in 2011, and her father Kevin on social media
The daughter described how families were being ‘ripped apart’ due to the virus and asked everyone in the country to ‘start playing their part’
‘Families are being ripped apart and completely destroyed by this god awful disease.
‘Stop playing roulette with a virus that doesn’t care if it wipes out your entire family.
‘Because trust me, this isn’t the ending you or any of your family deserve.’
Earlier today, figures from the Department of Health showed there were another 58,784 new cases of coronavirus – a 42 per cent rise on last Monday.
There was also 407 more deaths, which is up 14 per cent on the figure recorded last week.
Boris Johnson confirmed this morning that ‘tougher’ measures were coming despite the optimism sparked by the first Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses being administered.
Amid growing calls for action, the Prime Minister is set to unveil a new national lockdown tonight in a desperate bid to keep the mutant coronavirus at bay while vaccines are rolled out.