Family hit by three Covid tragedies in five days are targeted by online trolls
A FAMILY devastated by the deaths of a mother and her two sons to Covid-19 have spoken out after being targeted by trolls who said it was a hoax.
Grandmother Gladys Lewis, 74, from Pentre, Rhondda, died nine days ago at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital near Llantrisant. Her son, Dean, a 44-year-old father of three, died at home in Treorchy the next day.
On Monday, younger brother Darren, 42, died following treatment in intensive care at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
All three had tested positive for coronavirus before they died and their death certificates state Covid-19 as the cause.
More than £10,000 has been raised by the local community who have rallied behind the devastated family, but they have said that since the deaths, they have also been targeted by people on social media claiming Covid-19 is a hoax.
Gladys’ husband David, 81, told Channel 4 news that people needed to “believe this is real”.
In an emotional interview, his daughter Debbie Mountjoy added: “They want to spend a couple of minutes with me, my dad, Claire [Dean’s wife], Claire’s children and my children to see the devastation that we are going through as a family.
“Spend five minutes with us and they’ll know it’s real.
“Just please, please just listen to what the Government is saying and stick to the rules.
“Hold your family close and look after them.”
They described how coronavirus had “just ripped through the family”, with 13 family members testing positive for the virus.
Darren, who had Down’s syndrome, had not left the house since February apart from to attend hospital appointments, and Gladys, who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema, had also been shielding.
Dean only went out once a week to shop for his parents.
“We were scared of the virus anyway,” Mrs Mountjoy told Channel 4 News.
“But now we are absolutely terrified and I’m so scared because of losing the three of them that I’m going to lose my dad or somebody else.”
Mrs Lewis developed symptoms of the virus around a week before her death and was admitted to hospital on October 25.
Dean Lewis tested positive after his mother was admitted to hospital and he was given steroids and antibiotics by paramedics on October 26.
His widow Claire Lewis told the Channel 4 News interview: “As the week went on, he seemed to be getting better.
“We were talking at 3am. I asked him if he was ok, he said he was. I woke at 9.30am and he was non-responsive.”
Mrs Mountjoy and Claire Lewis gave CPR for 20 minutes until paramedics arrived but Dean was pronounced dead a short time later on October 30.
Darren Lewis was admitted to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital after telling his father that he was unwell and was later transferred to the intensive care unit.
“He was doing OK and we thought he was going to pull through it and then the same night, he had gone,” Mr Lewis said.
The family were unable to be with Darren due to testing positive for Covid19 and paid tribute to staff at the hospital for their “absolutely amazing” care.
“The only way we could see or speak to Darren was through FaceTime and they made that possible every single day he was there and we can’t thank them enough for that,” Mrs Mountjoy said.
“As Darren passed, we were able to phone to say our goodbyes.
“They put the phone by his ear so we could tell him that we loved him and he was so strong and we were proud of him.”
Mr Lewis described his wife as “a wonderful woman” who was a devoted mother, grandmother-of-13 and greatgrandmother-of-four.
His daughter said Mrs Lewis was “the best mother and grandmother anyone could ask for”.
Claire Lewis told how Dean had a “heart of gold”, was a “true friend” to people and adored his family.
Darren was described as “the most lovable happy man” by his sister Mrs Mountjoy.
The three funerals will take place at the same church, with the coffins brought in the night before when the family will be able to visit to say goodbye.
“We wanted them together so they were in each other’s funerals,” Mrs Mountjoy said.
The local community has rallied around the devastated family, raising more than £10,100 for the family to help fund the cost of the funerals.
Fundraiser Alison, from Treorchy, said: “As one of Debbie’s friends, there was no question that they needed help, financially and emotionally from our community.
“This is the stuff of nightmares, it’s incomprehensible what’s happened. Knowing how much fundraising the family have done over the years, it was only right we came together for them.
“The community are aware of their charitable ways and that shows in how much help we’re receiving at the moment.
“We’ve got various raffles going on and the GoFundMe page has smashed target and continues to accumulate daily. I just want to get this family as much money as possible to support them with the three funerals and use the rest for whatever they may need.”
To donate and help the family visit www.gofundme.com/f/carrrg-helptowards
Donations at the three funerals will be in aid of the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.