Woman, 47, who was desperate to be reunited with her grandchildren after shielding at home for a YEAR dies of Covid just days after being diagnosed
- Debbie Ling, 47, died suddenly just days after being diagnosed with coronavirus
- Grandmother had underlying health conditions and had barely left Walsall home
- She had been looking forward to getting back to normality with vaccine rollout
- Her devastated family say how she caught virus in February remains a mystery
A mother-of-three – desperate to be reunited with her grandchildren after isolating for a year – died of Covid aged just 47.
Debbie Ling’s devastated daughter urged everyone offered the vaccine to take it, saying: ‘My mum was desperate for it – but it didn’t come in time’.
She died suddenly days after being diagnosed with the illness.
She had spent much of the last year isolating at the Willenhall, in Walsall, East Midlands home she shared with her husband and son.
Debbie, a grandmother-of-five who had underlying health conditions, had barely left the house – only seeing her beloved grandchildren on video calls.
She fell ill with the virus in February – but how, the family said, was a complete mystery.
Debbie Ling, 47, died just days after being diagnosed with Covid-19 despite shielding for a year
The ‘beautiful, caring and loyal’ mother had never flouted lockdown rules – determined to keep herself and her close-knit family safe.
After the vaccine roll-out began, Debbie had been looking forward to getting the jab and returning to some kind of normality.
Daughter Amy Cornforth said above all she was looking forward to seeing her grandkids and taking them out again.
But she was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital last month, after she was diagnosed with Covid, and her symptoms began to worsen.
Amy, 26, said: ‘Last month she began getting unwell. She wasn’t getting any better and was taken to hospital. We were concerned but really thought she’d be OK.
‘She was on 100 per-cent oxygen for days. Then we took a call from the hospital to say they were going to ventilate her. Even then we didn’t think she would die.
Debbie Ling pictured with daughter Amy
‘Early the next morning we had a call to say things weren’t looking good and she wasn’t going to make it. We weren’t prepared for her passing away. We rushed to the hospital to be with her but she had already gone.
‘We are all absolutely devastated. I have four young children and my mum was so close to them all. We’d see her three or four times a week before Covid.
‘She hadn’t seen my kids throughout the pandemic and that really upset her. She couldn’t see them on their birthdays and she was devastated.
‘She was the most caring, loyal person, she would do anything she could for anyone. It’s a mystery how she caught the virus. She stayed in and everyone in the family was so careful. We always followed the rules.
‘It’s been so hard to explain it to the kids. None of us are coping and we can’t come to terms with it.’
Amy urged people to press ahead with their vaccines, despite new worries over the Oxford AstraZeneca jab.
Countries across Europe have suspended the use of the jab, amid concerns it may cause blood clots.
‘I would encourage people to get the vaccine and to keep following the rules,’ she said.
‘My mum was looking forward to the vaccine but it didn’t come in time.
She was looking forward to seeing her grandkids the most and taking them out.
‘Now she is going to miss my kids growing up and it isn’t fair.’
The family are now trying to raise £2,000 to give Debbie the send-off she deserves.
Her funeral will be held next week in Willenhall. Visit the GoFundMe page to read more and contribute.
https://uk.gofundme.com/f/n54krs-my-moms-funeral
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