'Keep your loved ones safe': Daughter shares heartbreaking story after father's Covid-19 death at Telford hospital
A woman whose father died with Covid has shared his heartbreaking story with the powerful message that 'anyone can lose their life to the virus'.
Grandfather Stephen Poulter died at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital on January 21, aged 63.
His daughter Cat said he contracted the virus even though he only left his home for school runs and to get petrol.
In the early hours of January 13, an ambulance was called after his breathing became rapid.
Cat said: “Eleven ambulances sat outside PRH that evening as there was not enough beds. Because of this they had to wait over an hour for an ambulance to arrive.
"Dad was struggling to breathe and he was scared.
"The paramedics said straight away this was Covid-19 and he was transferred to PRH.
"He was taken to the ITU as this was the only place that had beds. Originally he was going to be sent to the high dependency unit but they had no beds available.
"He was put on a CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure] machine as they were unable to control the level of oxygen.
"He had no other health issues and like many enjoyed his food and the odd few beers."
Cat said his family was able to get his mobile phone to him so they were able to FaceTime with help from the nurses.
"We did everything we could to make sure he knew we loved and missed him, and of course let him know the football scores," Cat said.
"He was having really bad nights and on the maximum oxygen levels.
Treatment
"He had to be lay on his side, due to the treatment inflating his stomach which meant he couldn’t lay on his front.
"Scans were done on January 20 on his heart to check all was working and that came back clear which was a relief. Then on the 21st after a really bad night, the decision had to be made to intubate as he needed urgent help."
At 8.30am, Stephen, who was from Telford, went into respiratory distress which caused a cardiac arrest.
Staff tried to revive him but sadly there was nothing they could do.
Cat said: "We had the call asking us to get to the hospital but we knew from that call he had passed.
"We were taken to the relative’s room and informed that he had passed away at 9am. Covid-19 killed him.
"We asked if we could see him, and we were provided with full protective clothing to enter the unit.
"When we walked on the ward it was the busiest place I have ever seen.
"Nurses and doctors were everywhere, bays full of patients, they were at max capacity.
Tears
"Dad looked fast asleep, so beautiful and peaceful.
"We were reassured by the lovely staff who had tears in their eyes that he didn’t feel a thing, he went peacefully in the end."
Cat praised the staff for their support and said his family are "totally broken".
"He can’t even have the send-off he deserves because of Covid restrictions," she said.
"We can’t even console each other with a hug. Sadly Dad will never walk his daughters down the aisle at their wedding or see his grandchildren grow any older, we will never have another family meal together.
"Those little things he did [that] we still laugh about now won’t ever happen again.
“Dad was a family man, would do anything and everything for anyone. He looked after his grandchildren daily and was a familiar face on the school playground.
"We will miss his dodgy cockney accent and his laugh, we can still hear it now.
"Who would have thought 2020 was going to be his last birthday and his last Christmas.
"Keep your loved ones safe. Protect everyone."
He leaves behind his wife Mairead, two children, Catherine and Kristina, and two grandchildren, Alyssia and Alfie.
In Stephen's memory, his family has organised a collection for the ITU at PRH if anyone wishes to donate.
