Mum shares husband's life-and-death coronavirus battle in teary radio interview
A woman has shared her family’s final goodbye to her husband who has been given almost no chance of survival after being struck down by coronavirus.
Mal Martin, 58, from Cardiff in the UK, began experiencing symptoms on March 19 which progressively became worse until March 29 when his wife, Sue, 49, called an ambulance, she told Radio 4.
After being admitted to hospital, Mr Martin’s condition continued to deteriorate and doctors told Sue he would need to be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and placed in an induced coma.
Mrs Martin and the couple’s two children, Hana, 16, and William, 13, had a brief video call with Mr Martin before he went under, during which he expressed his determination to fight the virus.
“We just told him that we loved him. It was heartbreaking to hear the children tell him that they were going to make him proud,” Mrs Martin told the radio station.
Not long after, the family were delivered the soul-crushing news that Mr Martin, who has Type 2 diabetes, had not responded well to treatment and his kidneys had failed.
Mrs Martin said despite her husband being administered the maximum amount of adrenaline possible, he had not shown any sign of improvement, leading doctors to believe he would not live.
She said hospital staff told her there “was almost zero chance he was going to survive” and that “he was on the brink, and that they couldn't do anything more for him”.
Desperate to see Mr Martin regardless of his condition, the family were told they could enter his room for 10 minutes for potentially their final quality moments together.
“Essentially we were going in to say our goodbyes. I said to the children, ‘You absolutely don't have to do this, this is a personal choice, there's no right or wrong’,” Mrs Martin said.
“But they both wanted very much to come and see him. Because they hadn't been able to hug him before they left.”
The family had to dress in full body protective clothing but were still not allowed to touch Mr Martin.
“It was very hard, it was very hard not to touch him but we were glad to get to see him,” the mum said.
While Mr Martin’s blood pressure has slightly improved, both his lungs and kidneys have failed, putting additional strain on his body as it continues to battle the disease.
His family have no choice but to endure the arduous wait for news, but are clinging to the possibility he may pull through.
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