The family of a Dundee grandad and community stalwart who died after contracting the coronavirus have thanked hospital staff for allowing them to be with him in his final hours.
Sean Hearn, 55, a popular football coach and referee, died in Ninewells Hospital on May 7 after a five-week battle against the disease.
The Mid Craigie charity worker – who had been helping elderly people in the city get food when he fell ill – managed to recover from Covid-19, but the illness left him with fatal damage to his lungs and kidneys.
His son, also called Sean, said the family “could not believe he was gone.”
“He beat the Covid, but his lungs and kidneys had been ravaged,” he said.
Mr Hearn was transferred to the non-Covid-19 part of the hospital where his family could be with him.
Sean, his brother Bruce and his mum Janice were there in person when he died, while his sister Shirley was able to join them online.
“The NHS staff had been amazing, letting us see him via an online connection, but it’s nothing compared to being there, holding his hand and speaking to him. It made such a big difference,” said Sean.
“We were there for the last few hours when he passed away. I don’t really have words for it. We’re just thankful we had that chance.”
Mr Hearn had spent the last seven years working in administration for Dundee charity Food Train, which distributes food to elderly people in the city.
He was working for the group when he became unwell at the start of April.
Sean said: “He came home and said he was feeling ill. We thought he had the flu. Then he was bedridden until we phoned the out-of-hours and we took him up to Kings Cross.
“They told us his oxygen was low, he had a bit of a temperature, so to pop him up to the hospital.
“We took him to the Covid-19 ward. The nurse came to the door and that is the last time we spoke to him,” Sean said.
Mr Hearn was later placed in an induced coma from which he never recovered.
Sean said his dad was a huge football fan, coaching his brother’s youth football team Fairmuir and his own amateur club Tayside Fire Brigade AFC.
“He became a big part of it. He loved football, he loved us being involved, and he loved helping other boys too,” he said.
Sean said his dad coached Fairmuir to a 16-month unbeaten run and helped seven other youth players go on to become academy players for professional teams or join semi-professional junior football clubs.
One of his proudest moments was the final of the local Ferrari’s Shield when Mr Hearn was managing Tayside Fire Brigade AFC, with both his sons playing for the side
“I have a lot of football memories, but that one was so important. The three of us together,” said Sean.
He said the family were grateful to members of the city’s amateur football community, as well as friends and neighbours, for the support they have given them.
“It has been amazing. The support from everybody has been fantastic. It shows how much people cared about my dad and how many people thought highly of him,” he said.
Sean, who has two boys of his own, Leo, 7, and Zac, 4, said his family’s experience should remind people to remain cautious about the coronavirus threat.
“It’s such a horrible thing to see. He never thought it would happen to him. He said he wasn’t that worried about it because he was fit and healthy,” he said.
“He was sometimes refereeing two matches a week, he had been away golfing, and to go from that to where he was is hard to believe.
“He became very ill in less than a week. It is still so surreal.”
