Sheila was a bright, enthusiastic person. She was a loving wife for over 50 years, a wonderful mum of three and an inspiring grandmother of six. Sheila had been living with dementia for many years and then recently contracted coronavirus. Very sadly, Sheila passed away on Easter Sunday.
Sheila’s granddaughter, Hannah, describes her Grandma as a ‘walking, talking plant encyclopaedia! She seemed to light up whenever she was in the garden.’ Sheila also loved walking, especially in the mountains, and listening to classical music.
For the family, one of the hardest parts of Sheila’s dementia was that ‘you end up grieving twice: once when you lose the person you love and know, and again when they pass away.’
David, Hannah’s Grandad, says that as Sheila’s dementia progressed it became more difficult to handle but also that through it all ‘she was always happy and cheerful.’
Following Sheila’s passing, David felt that the daily coronavirus statistics coming from the government didn’t capture the true impact of these deaths on families and communities. In response, Hannah and David set up the ‘Yellow Hearts’ initiative. They’re encouraging families to display yellow hearts in their windows as a symbol of all the different families that have lost someone as part of the pandemic. As David says:
‘Although every day on telly we hear the number of people that have died. These are just numbers that don’t mean that much but if every family that lost somebody dear put a yellow symbol in their window, on their door or the pavement, people would realise the extent of this personal and national tragedy.’
‘The yellow heart was chosen with the hope that if someone is mourning, they can find comfort in solidarity, and if they are not, that they are aware that Covid-19 is around and that everything they’re doing to reduce its spread is so important.’
Hannah, who says becoming a Dementia Friend in 2017 helped her to understand the day to day realities of living with dementia, set up Yellow Hearts to Remember Facebook group where other families have been sharing their stories.
‘Many people have shared their heart-breaking stories about losing family members and friends in what is a very difficult time, but it has been so heart-warming to see how those who have lost people to coronavirus, and those who haven’t, have rallied around to support others in the group.
‘This yellow hearts movement is not about one family but about showing togetherness, raising awareness and offering support.’ You can visit the Facebook group here.
