'Catastrophic' day led to two members of family dying within hours of each other
A woman has spoken of the "catastrophic" day which led to seven members of her family contracting coronavirus and both her mum and step-dad dying.
Former nurse Amanda Redgewell spent a month in the Royal United Hospital in Bath fighting the virus. The 58-year-old from Radstock was on the critical care ward for two weeks after she tested positive in January.
Her sister Sally Wade also spent time being treated for Covid in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and their parents - Pamela and Alan Davis - both died.
Amanda said the family took every precaution to protect themselves from the virus and even went without seeing each other at Christmas.
But one day in January changed everything, as Amanda's step-father called her to say her mother was confused and seeing things.
Alan, 74, had cared for Pamela, 85, for years after she had a lung removed due to cancer.
Amanda said her mother had become "confused" and started seeing things and so the sisters made a decision to visit them at their home in Cam, Gloucestershire, to see what was wrong and try to help.
She said: "We were both in full PPE, masks, aprons, gloves, and we quickly realised how unwell she was and phoned the GP who sent for an ambulance for mum.
"At the time we didn't think she had Covid as it was diarrhoea and sickness.
"But it was, and it led to me taking coronavirus home to my husband Malcolm and my sister Sally taking it home to her husband Tony and daughter Georgia."
Both Amanda and Sally were later rushed to hospital after both taking turns for the worse, with Amanda going to the Royal United Hospital in Bath, and Sally going to Gloucestershire Royal.
Amanda said: "My parents both passed away within days of each other in the first week. It's hard to describe it.
"My sister was on oxygen therapy and was in hospital for three weeks and I was in for a month, two weeks on the critical care ward.
"The effect on my family is devastating, we have lost beloved parents and grandparents who were the centre of our family all from that day and our family was very worried myself and my sister wouldn't make it either."
In total, seven members of her family contracted the virus, leading to four people being hospitalised.
Mrs Redgewell has now written a book on the "devastating" ordeal.
Her sister Sally Wade, 56, from Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, also caught the virus and was hospitalised "fighting for her life" in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
Both sisters' husbands, Malcolm Redgewell, 64, and Tony Wade, 64, fell ill with the virus along with Georgia Wade, 24, Amanda's niece.
Mrs Redgewell has dedicated the profits of the book to the Royal United Hospital for "saving my life", and Dorothy House Hospice where she works as a palliative care nurse.
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