A mother and daughter both died within a month of each other after 11 members of the same family all tested positive for Covid-19 after gathering on Christmas Day.
Heartbroken family said Kashmir Bains, 64, and her 43-year-old daughter Paramjeet, of Wolverhampton, fell ill after testing positive for the virus.
The daughter, who had Down’s syndrome and struggled with her mental health during the lockdown, had a seizure in New Cross Hospital and died in early January.
Her mother died four weeks later, after family turned off the life support machines, the Wolverhampton Express and Star reported.
Indy Bains, their son and brother who also battled Covid, called the loss of both family members ‘devastating’ and has raised £11,000 through a JustGiving page for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity.
He said the family gathered on Christmas Day, adhered to the Government’s three-household rule and ‘played safe’, meeting for just a few hours.
‘We didn’t meet anyone else beforehand, no-one had any symptoms, we still don’t know who brought the virus into the family, into the house, but it’s happened and it’s something we’ll have to live with for the rest of our lives,’ Indy said.
Heartbroken family said Kashmir Bains, 64, and her 43-year-old daughter Paramjeet, of Wolverhampton, fell ill after testing positive for the virus
The daughter, who had Down’s syndrome and struggled with her mental health during the lockdown, had a seizure in New Cross Hospital and died in early January. Her mother died four weeks later, after family reportedly turned off the life support machines
Heartbroken Indy told the Express and Star that his younger sister Ambi was the first to get symptoms around December 28, and later testing positive.
Her husband and three children all then tested positive, followed by Indy, his wife and son, as well as their mother Kashmir, father Nash and older sister Paramjeet.
Though most had just mild symptoms of the virus, Kashmir and Paramjeet fell seriously ill and were taken to hospital.
‘When the ambulances took them away, we just thought, ‘Well they’re in the right place, they’ll get treatment,’ we never thought once that they wouldn’t return home,’ Indy told the local newspaper this week.
Both mother and daughter then spent time in intensive care at New Cross Hospital, while Paramjeet had struggled to understand why she had to wear a CPAP mask – which helps patients breathe more easily.
‘The mask covered most of her face and she found it really uncomfortable and didn’t want to keep it on,’ Indy said. ‘It was heartbreaking for us as my dad and I kept begging her to keep it on, but she just couldn’t do it.’
Indy Bains, their son and brother who also battled Covid, called the loss of both family members ‘devastating’ and has raised £11,000 through a JustGiving page for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity
‘Because of her [Paramjeet’s] learning disability she didn’t really understand what was happening to her, and I guess she thought that the mask was just obstructing the air flow rather than helping her and she kept pulling it off.
‘We spent the last few hours pleading, begging her to keep it on, so that she could get the oxygen that she required… but she just couldn’t do it, and kept pulling it off, it was heartbreaking for us to see.’
Paramjeet’s condition worsened, and she suffered a major seizure before dying on January 5. The trauma of seeing her oldest daughter pass away is said to have then taken its toll on 65-year-old Kashmir.
Indy said his mother Kashmir battled the virus for another three weeks, but died after the family decided to turn off the life support machines on February 2.
He set up a JustGiving page in memory of his sister and mother to raise funds for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity.
Leanne Bood, fundraising co-ordinator for the Trust, said: ‘It is so humbling when families that have lost loved ones want to give something back by supporting the incredible work of the Trust and our hard working staff.
‘We were overwhelmed that the page has raised nearly £10,000 in such a short amount of time. Thank you to everyone that contributed, it will help Intensive Care Unit and Acute Medical Unit immensely.’