Health issues mean Barntown man can’t see his children
A BARNTOWN father has backed the decision to keep the schools closed as it means he might be able to see his children before the summer.
Eddie Phelan (57) has two children aged 8 and 3, and he says, given his medical condition, he would be unable to see them if they were attending school every day.
‘I’d be considered very high risk, so while I understand that frontline workers and those who need childminders would prefer to see the schools reopen, I think it’s better they remain closed,’ Eddie said.
‘I’d be too high risk to mix with children who attend school, I’m 57 years-old and have Stage 3 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) and an aortic aneurysm.
‘Because of my underlying conditions I might only live another 10-20 years but if I caught the virus I’d be dead in ten days.’
Eddie is no longer with the mother of his children and is currently cocooning at home alone. However, he did manage to see his children on Christmas Day and during the summer when case numbers were low.
Yet given the current situation he is not hopeful of seeing his children any time soon.
‘I understand the people who want the schools to be open, and I know some people will criticise me for having kids at my age but the way things are at the moment I won’t see my kids again until the summer,’ Eddie says.
‘I didn’t see them at all during the first lockdown, saw them briefly from June when restrictions were eased, then had bi-weekly visits and had them for a longer spell when the numbers went down during the school holidays.’
Eddie currently talks to his children on Zoom or over the phone but he says it’s not the same as seeing them in the flesh. And although he is keen to spend time with them, he is taking every possible precaution to ensure he’s protected from Covid-19.
‘I’m on my own now, if I need anything from the shop I go to my local supermarket in Barntown, it opens at 6 a.m. and I’ll be there at 6.05 a.m. so I can get in and out.
‘Or else I’ll go to Aldi at 8.40 p.m. to avoid the crowd.’
And he believes people like him, those who have an underlying condition but aren’t old enough to attend early-hour shopping, should be given some form of accreditation by the Department of Health.
‘I can’t go to the early opening hours in the supermarket, it’s embarrassing. I don’t want to have to explain my condition every time,’ he says.
‘They should issue a Government card, a HSE high-risk card for people who are vulnerable, so that if you’re stopped by the guards, or someone at a shop, you don’t have to explain yourself every time.’
For now though Eddie’s focus is on his children, on seeing them sooner rather than later, because, as he admits, time is not on his side.
‘I know I might not see my children graduate from secondary school, I might not be around then, so whatever time I can spend with them now is precious.’