A coronavirus patient died the day after his wife suffered a suspected heart attack from the stress of his hospital admission.
David Morrison, 71, died in Sunderland Royal Hospital on Wednesday – just one day after being told his wife Ann had passed away.
Paul, their son, said his mum had a ‘broken heart’ as she was worried about David, Chronicle Live reports.
He tried to get in touch with his mum on Tuesday after getting a ‘horrible feeling’ that something was wrong, however he received no response.
The 46-year-old told Chronicle Live: “I was at home working and just stopped, I got this horrible feeling and just had to ring mum and I could not get her hold of her.
“She never rang me back and I couldn’t get a hold of her, so I decided to drive to the flat.”
Paul went to his parents’ Sunderland home but couldn’t get in and called the police, who managed to enter the house, where they found his mum.
Paul said: “They think it was a heart attack because she had been stressing so much about my dad.
“She had a broken heart.
“I spoke to my dad on Wednesday and he didn’t sound great. I could hear him struggling to breathe. I could just hear it in his voice.”
Later that day, Paul was told his dad had died.
Born and bred in Sunderland, the couple were preparing to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary later this year.
(Image: Humphrey Nemar/ dailystar)
They were inseparable and lived their lives to the fullest, travelling the world together.
Paul said: “They have been together for 50 years, they did everything together.
“They lived life to the fullest. They travelled to Australia, Dubai and Singapore. They lived life their way.
“They were going to celebrate their 50th anniversary this year and were planning something nice.
“My mum suffered bowel cancer two years ago and got fantastic treatment from the Royal Victoria Infirmary. She had the all clear and then this happened.
“My dad went into hospital last Friday after showing symptoms and it got confirmed he had the virus. I was phoning to speak to both of them on the phone.”
Paul, who lives in Haswell, County Durham with his wife Marie, said delivering the news to friends and family was heartbreaking.
He said: “It was horrible because I had to ring everyone once to tell them about mum and then had to tell them all about my dad.”
Now, Paul has donated their bedding to a person who makes special bags for nurses to put their uniforms in.
He added: “I dropped off all mum’s bedding to someone who will make bags so they can wash their uniforms safely.
“I will make sure some of them go to the staff on the ward where my dad was treated as well.”
