We were each given the chance to say goodbye to our Lindsay
FAMILY’S FINAL WORDS TO VIRUS VICTIM IN HOSPITAL
A FAMILY have told of the heartbreaking moment they had to say goodbye to a woman who died after contracting coronavirus.
Lindsay Marshall, from Rochdale, died on Saturday, two weeks after being admitted to hospital. She was 44.
Her sister Karen said Lindsay, who had a thyroid condition and asthma, had been self-isolating after developing symptoms of Covid-19.
However, on March 22, she started to feel unwell and was taken to Fairfield General Hospital in Bury.
Three days later, she was sedated and transferred to the intensive care unit at Royal Oldham Hospital.
Just before the sedation, Lindsay sent a text message to her sister and this was the last she heard from her.
Devastated Karen said: “She had been self-isolating at home for a week on antibiotics and on the Friday before she went to hospital, she said she was feeling better. On the Saturday I dropped some shopping off on her doorstep and stood back and we had a chat. On Sunday morning she was struggling to breathe and was taken to Fairfield hospital.”
On arrival, Lindsay tested positive for coronavirus.
Karen, 42, added: “On Tuesday evening, she said she was going to be sedated and that she was scared. I told her everything was going to be all right and that was the last message she sent.”
Although the nature of the virus often means that families are unable to say goodbye to their loved ones, NHS staff made this possible for Lindsay’s family.
Karen said: “She was sedated and she didn’t know she was on her own.
“Staff kept taking the phone to the bed so we could talk to her. One nurse brushed her hair and plaited it. They looked after her. On the day they turned the machine off, staff took the phone over and we were each given the chance to say goodbye.”
Lindsay, who grew up in Bacup, worked two jobs, as a senior care coordinator at Go To Doc and a sales ops analyst at ADI.
She leaves behind dad Alan, mum Glenys, partner Roger, sister Karen, nephews Charlie and Lewis and niece Georgia. Funeral arrangements are under way and the family will be arranging a memorial service once lockdown is lifted.