‘WE THOUGHT HE WAS INVINCIBLE’
HEARTBREAK FOR FAMILY AS LOVING DAD-OF-FOUR GARY DIES OF COVID-19 AGED JUST 48
THE family of a man have described their heartbreak after losing their “invincible dad” to coronavirus at only 48 years old.
Gary Surguy, 48, of east Hull, tragically passed away on January 31 on Ward 37 at Hull Royal Infirmary after a battle with both Covid-19 and pneumonia.
His tragic death has left his family shocked, with daughter Jenna Surguy, 23, saying they thought the devoted dad-of-four and former Army medic was “invincible”.
She said: “We thought nothing was ever going to go wrong because he protected us. We always knew that he would be there if anything happened. He was invincible until the end, he fought very very hard. He was our invincible dad.”
Speaking of her father’s final weeks, Jenna said: “He was ill from the day that he started displaying symptoms until the day that he died and it was only about three and a half weeks.
“It just goes to show how deadly the virus actually is. Everyone always thinks it’s fine until it is knocking at your door. It’s spreading like wildfire and you’ve just got to hope it doesn’t burn anyone in your circle. We got to visit him to say goodbye which was important.
“My dad is a very happy-golucky; everything is going to be fine; nobody needs to worry type – so he took the diagnosis like that. He was like ‘yeah I have Covid but I’m fine, yeah I can’t breathe very well, but I’m fine.’
“Everything was always fine because he didn’t want to worry anybody because he is that kind of protector type. When he was in hospital he was still cracking jokes and causing mischief and everything - he didn’t let this virus take away who he was.
“A lot of people would have just given up because the treatment is so invasive and so uncomfortable but he didn’t because he had a family to fight for and he knew that he needed to hold on so that we could come and see him.
His family have so much praise for the staff and treatment he received at Hull Royal Infirmary they have launched a fundraising campaign to staff on Ward 37, where Gary, known to many as Gaz, was treated.
Jenna said: “He died with dignity and with his modesty intact and that is only thanks to the nurses on that ward. They could have given up on him, but instead they chucked everything that they could at him and more. They didn’t give up and because of that he was able to keep fighting until the very end, he was very stubborn when it came to death.”
His heartbroken family say they are unsure where the dachshundloving dad contracted the horrific virus, with daughter Eden Barley, also 23, insisting her dad “was so careful” and “didn’t really leave the house”.
Despite his vigilance when it came to Covid-19, Gary went on to be “very poorly” with the virus, according to his daughter Eden.
Speaking of her dad’s final days, Eden added that Gary was forced to remain on a ventilator for the entire duration of his hospital stay while his O2 sats dropped to 40. The normal range is 95-100.
Gary’s wife Katie, who describes her late husband as “the love of my life”, spoke of when he was admitted to hospital.
She said: “Initially, when he just had coronavirus, he had a fever and was incredibly tired and achy, but by the time they took him to hospital he had pneumonia. It just attacked his lungs and because his heart wasn’t the strongest, he couldn’t recover from it.
“The nurses said that people who were not as tough as Gary would have asked to end the treatment themselves but he carried on for two weeks. He kept trying to take the mask off but he never complained – he just got on with it.
“As far as he was concerned he was getting better and coming home, even the day before he died. He was very tough, I don’t know anybody as tough as him.”
She went on to say: “He was the love of my life, we met later in life and not in the greatest of situations, but we made the best of it and we lived for each other and for our children – and now I’ve got to do it on my own.
“It’s not the greatest thing in the world but he would want me to carry on and be there for the children.”
Despite the horrendous ordeal Gary’s family was put through as he fought the virus, friends and family have commended the “amazing” staff that looked after Gary in his final moments, saying: “We cannot thank them enough for the amazing care he received, despite him being good old grumpy Gaz at times.”
Eden praised staff as she said they were able to sustain Gary’s life for two weeks after his admission on the ward.
The family say they set up the fundraiser to raise money for the efforts of the staff “who went above and beyond to give Gary the best care they could”, giving the loving father a “dignified ending”.
Already raising more than £800 for the staff at Hull Royal, Eden said: “They went above and beyond what they were required to do. Now we are just trying to raise money for the ward – they’ve asked us to use the money we raise to buy them a fridge-freezer with an ice machine and a nice coffee machine so that the staff can have nice drinks while they are at work.”
Jenna went on to talk about the other loves in Gary’s life, his five dachshunds: “It takes a certain kind of man to confidently walk five sausage dogs but he didn’t really care because they made him so happy. He was just very happy in his own world where he got to spend time with people who loved and cared about him.”
If you would like to donate to the Gofundme set up to raise money for the staff on Ward 37, visit www.uk. gofundme.com and search “GARY SURGUY - HRI WARD 37”.
A TWISTED pensioner who left his victims’ lives in tatters is behind bars after hiding his sick abuse behind a mask of respectability for more than a decade.
Harry Leech, 77, thought he had got away with his crimes, which started in 2004, after systematically sexually abusing two girls over 11 years.
They knew the truth about the paedophile, of Green Lane in Tickton, who to the wider world had held a “professional” job and was “of stature” in the community.
His abuse – including touching their genitals and forcing them to perform sex acts on him - finally caught up with him on Friday, 17 years after it started, when he was jailed for 12 years.
Hull Crown Court heard harrowing details of how the girls, now adults, are still struggling with the impact of the abuse, which started when one of them was aged just six.
Leech’s first victim said he had
“ruined her childhood”, driving her to drink and self-harm in her teenage years.
Her statement to the court read: “I buried the events of my juvenile years so deep, almost convincing myself it hadn’t happened.
“The reason behind this was because I felt so ashamed and thought I was the only one this happened to. The disclosure of [the second victim’s] abuse clearly changed my thinking.
“Whilst I kept this enormous secret to myself, I would pull my hair out to the point I had visible bald patches.
“I would also bite my nails and scratch my skin so badly, drawing blood, resulting in me being covered in scars.
“I also began drinking excessively from as young as 13. The definition of my teenage years was certainly ‘off the rails’ – I would sleep with a bottle of vodka under my bed, using it as a coping mechanism to aid me to sleep.
“The amount of alcohol I consumed resulted in me having to have numerous days off school.” She added: “My present life is engulfed with post trauma related episodes – I suffer every day with total lack of self-esteem due to feeling ashamed.
“I’ve gone from being a very outgoing person to someone that analyses every life event – this resulting in me experiencing severe anxiety over the smallest of life’s day-to-day obstacles.
“The only aspect of life I feel I will never overcome is a normal adult relationship, as I find it extremely difficult to be affectionate and receive affection.
“I’m hoping to not always feel this way and I prey that justice is served – nothing will ever remove the memories that have stayed in the hearts of all affected.”
Leech plied her with she got older so that comply with his deeds.
He only stopped when the girl told him she had started her period in order to discourage him.
Leech later moved on to his second victim, who told of how she self-harmed and turned to drink to try to mask the pain she suffered at his hands.
“As a little girl, I knew [what happened] was wrong, but I didn’t know how wrong until my teenage years,” she said in a statement read to the court.
“Being able to sleep proved really difficult, so this was when the self-harming began. The self-harm continued up until me speaking out about what happened to me.
“The abuse I suffered seriously impacted on my education – the overwhelming feeling of anger, frustration and total lack of alcohol as she would concentration made my school days unbearable and I’m feeling the consequences of that now, trying to catch up.”
The victim said Leech would ask her to do sexual things, before giving her money in return. He told her: “This feels nice, this is what you do to people you love”, adding that it was “our little secret”.
When she got older, Leech would give her sloe gin, made with berries they had picked together, so he could abuse her while she was drunk.
She added: “The impact of the abuse has definitely affected any relationships I’ve had with boys and I will certainly need help in this area to ever be able to have a normal adult relationship where I trust a man.
“No child should ever have to endure that level of abuse from such a young age, and I believe that all of is was totally premeditated.”
Judge Mark Bury jailed Leech for 12 years for 28 acts of sexually assaulting two children under the age of 13.
As a little girl, I knew [what happened] was wrong, but I didn’t know how wrong until my teenage years
Leech’s victim