Thomas Maher funeral cost
My dad, Thomas Patrick Maher, passed away alone in Aintree Hospital on 17th November 2020 following a short battle with COVID19.
Dad hasn’t had an easy life. He had worked hard all his life. He was a husband, a father of 4 and grand-father to one. His first born, also called Thomas, died in 1970 not long after his birth. At the time, the grave digger was ill so my Dad has to carry his own child and dig the grave himself. Then In 1971, his second born child, Pat also died following a short illness in hospital. Then in December 2011 He has also lost another daughter, Sheila. She died very suddenly following complications from Diabetes. She left behind a then 6 year old son (who is now 15yrs old and 6ft 3”).
In April 2012 Dad suffered a severe stroke which left him paralysed down one side, leaving him totally reliant on other people for everything from washing, toileting, dressing etc. This happened just two months after he retired from Sonae!. Then In September 2013 his wife, my mother, also called Sheila passed away with complications from diabetes following a long stay in hospital. Just a few short months later in 2014, his Mother, my Nan Anne passed away.
In 2017, Dad suffered a serious bowel problem which resulted in him requiring to have a Stoma fitted. The day after this procedure, his Stoma ruptured through his stomach. The hospital at this point told us to fear the worst, they did not expect him to survive the night …. But he did! The next morning the surgeons took Dad back to Theatre, they did not expect him to survive the operation, we went along to the hospital to see Dad and say our goodbye’s before he went into theatre … again he survived! Then onto ICU! He was very poorly, again I was called to the hospital one Saturday morning when the doctors were to remove his ventilator tube, do or die they said …. Again he survived – I swear Dad had 9 lives!
Then onto now, Dad was lethargic and sleeping a lot. He also lost his appetite for a few days, and anyone who knew Dad will know that he loves his food! So we called the doctor who advised us Dad needed to go to hospital with suspected COVID. Dad was confirmed COVID the day after his admission to hospital. He required a small amount of nasal oxygen and initially seemed to be improving. Then on the morning of Tuesday 17 November, Dad suddenly started having difficulty with his breathing. He deteriorated very quickly and sadly passed away a short time later.
Since Dad has his stroke in 2012 he was just ‘existing’, not living life to the full. He was housebound. He was backwards and forward to hospital for one procedure or another. He was terrified of COVID, he shielded, he locked himself away from the whole world since March when COVID first appeared, but this was not enough to prevent Dad from developing this virus. He died alone with no-one by his side because of the restrictions placed upon us and the deadliness and unpredictability of this virus.
Dad never wanted for anything, he has never asked anyone for anything, but now I am struggling with the cost of a funeral I did not expect. I would love nothing better than to be able to give Dad the send-off he deserves. If you would like to help towards the cost of Dad’s funeral I will be eternally grateful.
Thank you.
