Left to spell out dangers of Covid
‘It doesn’t care who you are’says grieving wife
The family of a 45-year-old dad who died from coronavirus are urging people not to be complacent or underestimate the danger.
Stephen Stewart passed away in February at University Hospital Wishaw, exactly a month after testing positive for Covid-19.
His devastated wife Heather and teenage daughter Emma are urging people to get vaccinated and follow the rules around hand hygiene, social distancing and meeting others.
The Motherwell man tested positive on January 19 and was rushed to hospital just five days later when his oxygen levels dropped.
He was admitted to intensive care but fought back and was moved to the High Dependency Unit before moving onto a ward.
Stephen, who was originally from Viewpark, suffered a serious setback when he developed pneumonia. He returned to ICU and had to be put on a ventilator. He was the youngest person in the unit.
Heather spoke to our stablemate newspaper the Daily Record.
She said: “There are still people out there who don’t believe Covid is real – I assure you it is real. I have pictures of my husband on a ventilator. It is real.
“The virus doesn’t care who you are, what you are or what you’ve done – whether you’re a good person or not. It is the worst thing ever.
“We followed every rule. Hand on heart – Stephen followed every rule and didn’t leave the house except for work. He didn’t even go shopping.
“We didn’t even meet up with family over Christmas – we did a doorstep drop-off at Stephen’s sister and stood outside.”
Stephen and Heather were childhood sweethearts, getting together while teenagers at school.
Heather, who described her soulmate as a “family man” and a “genuine good guy”, is still suffering the long-term effects of the virus herself. Because she already had contracted Covid she was able to be at her husband’s side and was with him in the ICU for 12 hours the day before he died.
“It’s a very hard thing to see and he did try and fight it right until the end but unfortunately the pneumonia was too much on top of the Covid,” she admitted.
“I’m still not willing to break any rules – we’ve followed them to this point.”
Heather, 47, and Emma, 16, are now having to come to terms with the fact Stephen is no longer with them but have the comfort of knowing he did his best for others.
She added: “He was somebody who didn’t like to stand still – he always had to do something.
“He was the type of man who could turn his hand to anything. If something was wrong, if my mum or aunt had a broken tap or needed something fixed, they would give Stephen a call. “He was one of life’s genuine good guys.” Heather has nothing but praise for the hospital staff who cared for her husband, who was a keen fisherman and also loved motorcycles. She says they went “above and beyond” to save his life.
“You don’t think you’re going to lose your husband at 45 and become a widow at 47,” she said. “It just feels wrong.”
“He’s left a huge hole in our heart but in his memory we will try to do the best that we can.”
A Just Giving page has been set up to help the family pay for funeral costs: gofundme.com/f/ in-loving-memory-of-stephen-stewart