Western Daily Press (Saturday)
HOW COVID DEVASTATED ONE FAMILY
AWOMAN has published a book about the “catastrophic” day which led to her mother and stepfather dying from coronavirus within days of each other.
Amanda Redgewell, 58, a former nurse from Radstock, Somerset, spent a month in the Royal United Hospital in Bath fighting the virus and was on the critical care ward for two weeks after she tested positive herself in January.
In total, seven members of her family contracted the virus, leading to four people being hospitalised.
Mrs Redgewell has written a book on the “devastating” events which led to the death of her 85-year-old mother, Pamela Davis, and her stepfather, Alan Davis, 74, both from Cam in Gloucestershire, only days apart.
Her sister, Sally Wade, 56, from Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, also caught the virus and was hospitalised “fighting for her life” in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
Both sisters’ husbands, Malcolm Redgewell, 64, and Tony Wade, 64, fell ill with the virus, along with Georgia Wade, 24, Amanda’s niece.
Mrs Redgewell has dedicated the profits of the book, available on Amazon, to the Royal United Hospital for “saving my life”, and Dorothy House Hospice, where she works as a palliative care nurse.
Recalling the awful events, Amanda said: “One day in January was fateful for my entire family. We had all been so good, keeping so safe and not seeing each other as we knew how serious the situation was.
“I have worked for the past four years at Dorothy House in the palliative care team for people who want to die at home and before that I was a local district nurse, so I’d been wearing PPE at work.
“We didn’t see each other for Christmas, but during that time my mother, Pamela, became confused and had started seeing things.
“It was over the new year period where getting a doctor was hard and she was becoming increasingly unwell and she came down with sickness and diarrhoea.
“My dad, Alan, phoned me and my sister and said he didn’t know where to begin with her as she was wandering around being sick and he was alarmed. He had been her carer for many years after she had a lung removed from cancer some years ago.
“My sister and I made the decision after that phone call on January 4 to go and see what was wrong as I could help. We were both in full PPE, masks, aprons, gloves, and we quickly realised how unwell she was and phoned the GP, who sent for an ambulance for mum.
“At the time we didn’t think she had Covid as it was diarrhoea and sickness. But it was, and it led to me taking coronavirus home to my husband Malcolm, and my sister, Sally, taking it home to her husband, Tony, and daughter, Georgia.”
Soon after January 4, 74-year-old Alan Davis was admitted to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, alongside his wife of 48 years.
Both Amanda and Sally were then rushed to hospital after both taking turns for the worse, with Amanda going to the Royal United Hospital in Bath and Sally also going to Gloucestershire Royal alongside her parents.
Amanda said: “My parents both passed away within days of each other in the first week. It’s hard to describe it.
“My sister was on oxygen therapy and was in hospital for three weeks and I was in for a month, two weeks on the critical care ward.
“The effect on my family is devastating. We have lost beloved parents and grandparents who were the centre of
our family all from that day, and our family was very worried myself and my sister wouldn’t make it, either.
“We were both fighting for our lives. Our children had to step up and make the funeral arrangements for their grandparents and take charge, which was very hard.
“It was right in the peak of the virus. I was in the RUH when the military was helping out.
“I was inspired to write the book because I have worked for the NHS for 38 years and always being on the other side and to experience the exemplar care I received was astounding.
“I was so proud of the nurses who looked after me I wanted to write it down, but also I wanted the children to know what happened to their grandparents.
“I wanted our Covid story to be recorded – this catastrophic family event.”
Amanda said: “Some days I think how could this happen, was that day a mistake?
“Some days I think it was really foolish, then other days I think what choice did I have? My dad was in such a terrible state about mum and I’m a nurse. I’d never heard him like that on the phone.
“Despite being in full PPE, gloves, aprons, masks, the works, the consultant said the viral load in that bungalow would have been huge and we’d have needed the full space masks they wear in the hospital to be safe.
“At the time we didn’t think she had Covid. I thought she’d had a stroke. If we had known how those symptoms were Covid we’d have never gone.
“Gastric coronavirus wasn’t as well known back in January.”
Mrs Redgewell had a stroke while in hospital and has been left with some weakness on her left side and heart problems.
Her sister Sally has been left breathless and suffering from fatigue. Malcolm, Tony and Georgia have recovered well.
She said: “Writing down what happened was actually very cathartic, so many people ask me what happened and now at least I can say here is the book.”
In hospital, Amanda was given high-flow nasal oxygen therapy, which is a treatment for patients with severe or critical coronavirus, and was told she was very close to being put under and on a ventilator.
She said: “The high-flow therapy is really rough; it feels like you’re underwater all the time. It was difficult to manage it and cope. The consultant told me if it didn’t work they’d need to put me on a ventilator, which they had kept aside for me, and put me to sleep.
“I said no I didn’t want that – he said, ‘Do you mean you don’t want to live?’
“I thought going on a ventilator would mean I didn’t wake up. He told me there was a 68% survival rate for me if I went on one as the RUH had a higher survival rate than the rest of the country.
“The care the nurses gave me was unbelievable, 12-hour shifts in full PPE.
“There were dark days, but something that kept me going was actually SAS: Who Dares Wins.
“My whole family have always been big fans of the show and my family sent a message to Ant Middleton saying how I wasn’t doing so well going in and out of consciousness in hospital.
“He replied so fast with a video message of support to me, he told me I needed to fight. The nurses sat me up and said they had something to show me and it was this video.
“He told me not to panic or be emotional but to focus on the fight.
“At the time, family weren’t allowed to visit and I was very worried about the future and if I’d see them. I’d just become a gran myself.
“So I put all the family photos away for nine days while I got in the head space of fighting and not being upset.
“The rest of them sent me messages, too, Jason Fox, Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham, and they really helped pull me through.”
That is why Amanda’s book is titled, Who Cares Wins, The NHS, The SAS and my Covid Fight.
Another shining light to her while in hospital was the Royal United Hospitals chaplain Narinder Tegally, who was “incredible” and became a substitute family member for Mrs Redgewell.
She said: “I’m just grateful to be home now. I’m still not working as my recovery could take up to a year.
“Not working is my biggest concern really as I want to get back to helping my patients, but at the moment I’m not able to roll someone over and bathe them. I am doing well I think, some of my friends get upset with the way I am now as I’m not fully back.
“This whole thing has brought my family, who were already so close, tighter together.
“My sister’s children and mine all had to say goodbye to their grandparents over the phone. It was terrible, but they have all been amazing.
“We’re going to take Alan’s ashes to the Isle of Man because they went on holiday there for 40 years.
“My mum and dad were 100 per cent involved in the family, which revolved around them, whether it was for Sunday lunches or group holidays, which we would do twice a year as a group of both families.
“My dad was incredible. He gave his life for my mum, he was so fit and healthy, slim, as fit as my husband. He worked for many years as a surveyor.
“My mum, who had been a social worker, had been ill after having her lung removed, but they were both so dedicated to each other.
“I often think if one of them had survived and not the other they wouldn’t have coped or liked it.
“I’d like people to think that they are making a donation to the Royal United Hospital and Dorothy House – which has lost a lot of fundraising money during Covid and been incredibly supportive of me – when they buy the book.
“Its almost like in exchange – for making a donation they get my book.”
The care the nurses gave me was unbelievable AMANDA REDGEWELL