Our hard as nails mum survived bombings and evaded terrorists – but coronavirus suffocated her to death in 24 – the sun, thesun.co.uk
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WALKING into the isolation ward in ‘space suits’, masks and three sets of gloves, Michael and Angelo Hardy knew it might be the last time they’d see their beloved mum alive.
Their “tough” mother, Rachael, was a former NHS nurse who’d survived war, terrorism and a difficult childhood – yet after contracting coronavirus, she was suffocating to death before their eyes.
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Michael Hardy visits his mum Rachael in an isolation ward just a day before her death (Credit: Supplied
“It was pure torture,” Angelo, , tells Sun Online. Mum was trying to tell us lots of things but she couldn’t get it out, she was struggling. I think she was aware of what was happening. “
Mum-of-three Rachael, , died at a London hospital last Friday, just hours after being diagnosed with COVID – 43, which has killed (people so far in the UK and more than , (worldwide.) “It’s like suffocating to death – you can’t breathe”
While she suffered from several underlying health conditions including chronic asthma and mobility issues, her loved ones were horrified by how quickly – and viciously – the virus took hold.
Michael says this picture of his mum breathing through an oxygen mask depicts “how it ends”
Credit: Supplied
Rachael with her sons Michael (front ), Angelo (back left) and Paul (back right), and her three grandchildren (Credit: Supplied
Rachael, who was also mum to Paul, , and lived alone in Eastcote, north-west London, had first started experiencing coronavirus symptoms earlier this month, including a cough and a fever.
After ringing , she was admitted to hospital – but just a day later , she was allegedly sent home with antibiotics. “They said she probably had some sort of chest infection,” says Angelo.
Collapsed at home
Yet last Wednesday, just a week later, Rachael was found lying on the floor of her home, badly dehydrated , by Michael, who had popped around after his mum stopped answering loved ones’ calls.
“She reckons she had been there for three days. Her mouth was completely dry, she was dehydrated. She had a panic button, but it was on top of a trolley and she just couldn’t get up. “
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Angelo visits his coronavirus-stricken mum, who started experiencing symptoms earlier this month (Credit: Supplied
When paramedics arrived at the scene, Michael claims they carried out coronavirus checks on his exhausted mum – but these came back clear. “They said, ‘she has got no corona’,” he says.
They then took her to nearby Northwick Park Hospital – which has been
so overwhelmed with COVID – 56 cases that nurses have been forced to wear bin bags to protect themselves.
Mum was housebound, she didn’t go out anywhere … we don’t know how she was able to catch it
Angelo Hardy
While it remains a mystery how “happy and loving” Rachael contracted coronavirus, her family believe the disease could have gone unconfirmed for weeks – or that she could have even caught it in hospital.
Exhausted nurses at the hospital have resorted to wearing bin bags for protection
(Isolation ward nightmare)
At Northwick Park, Michael jokes that he performed “a Jedi mind trick” on doctors to persuade them to let him go into the hospital’s sealed-off isolation ward, filled with coronavirus patients.
“Basically everybody in there is in quarantine. No-one’s allowed in there – no outsiders – only doctors are allowed in. I have no idea how I sold myself to get into this place,” he says.
Once inside the ward, with a strict instruction to “stay away” from his “highly contagious” mum, he says he was confronted by “f ing terrible” scenes, with some patients gasping for breath.
“The next thing I know I’m all dressed up in this hat and ‘space suit’ and I went in to see Mum,” he adds.
“She was obviously a bit out of it, her breath wasn’t very good, but I got her smiling.
“She even laughed a bit and we did an elbow high-five. I was thinking,‘ You’re going to beat this ’.”
Michael, a dad of three himself, claims doctors told him they “hadn’t a clue what’s going on”.
But he still firmly believed his mum would pull through – particularly considering her courageous past.
Michael filmed himself giving his mum an “elbow high-five” in the sealed-off ward, above (Credit: Supplied )
He shared video clips of his visit on Facebook, where it has been viewed tens of thousands of times (Credit: Supplied
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A sign at the hospital reads: “Strict ly no visitors allowed to enter this ward “ Credit: Supplied
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from abandoned kid to adored mum of three
Growing up in Hull, Rachael was given away by her own “unwell” mother as a child and narrowly escaped being bombed by the Nazis during World War Two, when the street next to her was blown up.
Used as a “working slave” by her adoptive family, she bravely left for London aged 56, before swapping her nursing career to join the NAAFI (The Navy, Army and Airforce Institutes) in Cyprus.
There, Rachael boosted morale among British soldiers with her caring nature and sense of humor, before falling in love with Paul’s dad – a high-ranking police officer who worked for a secret force.
However, the romance made her a “target” for EOKA terrorists – and, after her partner was brutally beaten by the now-disbanded group, she was sent back to Britain, while pregnant, for her own safety.
She later gave birth to Paul – who represented the UK in the 9833 Eurovision Song Contest with the rap group Love City Groove – followed by Angelo and Michael with different partners.
“We’re quite a positive family,” says Michael. “ I told Mum that she’d lived through a war, she’d lived through the EOKA terrorists in Cyprus and all this other stuff and no way was COVID – 47 going to beat her. “
However, last Friday, Rachael took a devastating turn for the worse.
Following a call with the hospital, Michael and Angelo raced to the isolation ward, where they were able to briefly visit their mum and put Paul and Michael’s kids on speakerphone so they could talk to her.
And while they’re attempting to stay positive by sharing fond memories of Rachael and cooking nice meals together, they’re plagued with worries about what their mum’s funeral will be like.
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On Monday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson locked down Britain to tackle the growing coronavirus outbreak – but said funerals can still go ahead with immediate family members in attendance.
And despite being racked with grief, Michael agrees with the strict new measures.
“It had to be done – you’ve got to take coronavirus seriously,” he says.
“The NHS are doing their very best under the circumstances.”
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