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A CARRICKMORE family who tragically lost their father to Covid-19 are holding a fundraising sledathon to thank the “amazing” nurses who looked after him during his final days.
Declan Grimes (61) sadly passed away in the Critical Care Unit at the South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen, in April.
Mr Grimes, who was a husband to nurse Sheila and the father of seven, had spent almost a month on a ventilator in intensive care, and his family were unable to be with him during his illness.
His son Ruari explained, “We lost daddy in a very unexpected way and it showed how serious Covid can be if someone who can’t handle it gets it.
“Some people are dismissive of it, but unfortunately from my own experience, I have never seen anything go through someone the way the virus went through my father.
“I was talking to him on Tuesday as normal but on the Wednesday, he couldn’t get out of bed. It was just a snowball effect from there for the best part of a month.
“We had no wake or funeral and it was a closed casket so it was very tough for our family,” said Ruari.
The nurses in South West Acute Hospital helped and supported the Grimes family in every way they could and even held the phone to Declan’s ear so they could speak to him in his dying moments.
Ruari and his family decided to hold the fundraiser to say thank you for the support they received from the nurses.
‘well looked after’
He continued, “The nurses kept in constant contact with us, and we knew that daddy was being well looked after.
“They held the phone to his ear to let us talk to him and they chatted with him and said prayers.
“Whatever they could do for us, they done it, and went above and beyond their duty and we will always be so appreciative of that,” said Ruari.
The sledathon will be held at RG Fitness in Carrickmore on December 12 from 6am to 6pm, and there are still some slots available for people who want to get involved.
The fundraiser has already raised over £2,000 for the cause, and the family is extremely grateful for all contributions so far.
Ruari continued, “We are doing a marathon sled push. We have a dog sled or a prowler in the gym, and we are going to try and push it up and down the floor for 26 miles in 12 hours.
“It will be a tough task so we are trying to get the entire community involved. Every 15 minutes, there will be a group of four people coming in and we will keep rotating throughout the day and hopefully we will hit the target.
To donate to the cause visit, https://uk.gofundme.com/f/sheldaton, or volunteer to take part, contact RG Fitness on Facebook.
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