A MAN recovering in critical care says missing his mother's funeral due to coronavirus was the darkest day of his life.

Kevin Hughes, 63, a Flintshire Councillor and journalist, was unable to attend the funeral of his mother June Margaret Hughes, 89, after he was laid low with coronavirus.

He said: "Just lying here, knowing that her funeral was going on, was the darkest day you could ever have.

"The amazing staff here commented that my eyes were just dull, they were lifeless.

"It was just an awful, awful day. I lay here on that day and it was like being in a dark tunnel."

His mother was living at a care home in Blacon, Chester, when she tested positive for coronavirus.

He hadn't seen her face-to-face for some time in accordance with coronavirus rules, but was able to spend a short time with her in hospital before she passed away.

Kevin added: "She was in a care home in Blacon and had been in and out of the Countess for a couple of months with underlying health conditions. She didn't have dementia, she was totally aware, it was mostly skeletal stuff with her hips and her breathing. She came out of the Countess on a Saturday towards the end of November, and then she tested positive for coronavirus. She was put on a covid ward at the Countess.

"I was called back in on the Tuesday and spent an hour with her. Then I arrived back on the Wednesday, got the PPE on, and managed to spend about a minute with her before she died."

Kevin, who lives in Gwernymynydd, has been in the critical care ward at Wrexham Maelor for three weeks.

He knows that he will miss spending this Christmas with his wife Sally for the first time in 43 years.

The Leader:

Kevin Hughes is being treated by the "amazing" staff at Wrexham Maelor

But he said, if anything is to come from his illness, it is that his ordeal must serve as a stark warning for those tempted to break or bend social distancing rules this Christmas.

He said: "Don't. Whatever you do, don't. We were so careful and we got caught. I don't know how I got it, whether it was visiting my mum, it might have been in the shop or in the garage. I just don't know.

"Once I start coughing, I can't stop. I can't talk for too long, I'm absolutely knackered. It's awful. It's like someone is standing on your chest. You can't breathe. Your lungs get clogged up, closed, and you have to force the oxygen in.

"It is the first year me and my wife will spend Christmas day apart in 43 years. But it's only a day. We can have it another time.

"I can't express it enough, be sensible and think about what you're doing. Every bed in here is full, they can't cope with any more. For the sake of a day, one night out, a Christmas dinner or a party, it's just not worth it. It's really not worth it.

"I know that businesses are suffering, particularly the hospitality sector, and I understand that. But people are going to die. It's as simple as that.

"I came really close. For days I was just in this black tunnel, I couldn't see any light. My fear was going onto a breathing machine, and I came within a millimetre. Somehow I managed to keep off it and after my mum's funeral, a few days later, there was a pinprick of light. It's got brighter and brighter, and now it's blinding me. I've just got to cross that finishing line now."

Speaking to the Leader from his critical care bed, Kevin wanted to praise the tireless work of the staff at the Maelor.

"The NHS staff have been unbelievable. They can't cope with anymore. All the beds are full. It's horrendous but they are so professional, so caring. It's an awful, awful disease."

He added: "The NHS staff are getting hammered, but the care is unbelievable. They really do need help."

"I want to mention the work that Flintshire Council have done. The work they've put in has been incredible, to keep the schools open and keep people safe," he added.

"They are a fantastic team and the work that's gone in is unbelievable."

Kevin believes it was getting in to shape in preparation for a coast to coast walk in aid of Hope House that potentially enabled him to beat coronavirus.

He had lost three stone through daily walks to Moel Famau.

He added: "It will be a long, long job afterwards. I'd planned to do the coast to coast walk for Ty Gobaith. I might have to put that back but I am more determined to do it than ever. It saved me really. I lost three stone in the run up, dieting and I was walking up to eight miles a day from my home

up to Moel Famau and back. I was training hard, and that just might have saved me.

Kevin added: "Things are improving, I am getting better, but it's been a long, long process."