'Covid took our mum the day after we called 999'

Diane Devine and Patricia McCarron lost their mother to Covid less than 24 hours after she started having breathing difficulties.

The sisters shared their experience during a day of reflection at Scotland's Covid Memorial in Glasgow.

And they told how Eileen McCarron, 79, rapidly deteriorated after she was admitted to hospital in April 2020.

Ms Devine told BBC Scotland News: "There were no symptoms whatsoever, she hadn't been ill.

"She was peeling her potatoes the night before and the next day she couldn't breath."

On Sunday they took part in a minute's silence at Pollok Country Park for those who died during the pandemic.

I remember: Scotland's Covid Memorial was created in the park in 2022 following a campaign by The Herald newspaper.

The £250,000 tribute, which is made up of 40 tree supports, was designed by artist and poet Alec Finlay.

The structures are designed to mimic a person supporting a tree, to demonstrate the support shown in communities during the global health crisis.

Sunday's events include a candlelit vigil at the entrance to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, organised by Scottish Covid Bereaved.

Ms Devine said the sisters raised the alarm when they couldn't get their mother on the phone and called round to her house.

She said: "They said her temperature was fine and took her to the Royal Infirmary just to check her over."

But just over an hour later, they were told the mother-of-three was in a critical condition.

"It was end of life, they couldn't save her," said Ms McCarron. "That's how quick it was for everybody."

Ms Devine said her mother was sitting up and chatting away happily in her hospital bed, albeit with an oxygen mask on.

But she added: "They showed us the X-ray of her lungs and said it had ferociously attacked her lungs and she wasn't coming out."

Ms Devine said she gave her mum her last rites by speaking to the local priest over the phone, as he could not come into the hospital with her.

She added: "Giving your mum the last rites is an honour, but it's not an honour anyone wants."

The sisters said goodbye and planned to visit the next day, but the former nursery teacher died in the early hours of the morning.

"We never got to see her again," said Ms Devine. "You don't get the body."

Ms McCarron added: "We had to wait 14 days before the funeral could take place and there were only ten of us allowed there."

The sisters said they visited the memorial on Sunday to keep their mother's memory alive.

Ms Devine said: "Everybody loses their mum and you know you're going to lose them at some point.

"But I think you don't realise until you meet other people who lost their loved ones in the same circumstances, through the pandemic, and you know that they went through what you're going through."

Ms McCarron agreed and added: "It's not finished for us.

"For other people, now lockdown has finished, it's just a distant memory if they haven't lost anybody. But for us it's still there.

"You don't get the comfort from family that you would take for granted when somebody passes."

She said the memorial gave them a place to grieve with people who lost loved ones in the same circumstances.

Ms McCarron added: "You're the only ones who know what that was like, to do it on your own."

First Minister Humza Yousaf said he was very grateful to Marie Curie for holding a day of reflection "to honour those who have died".

He added: "Losing a loved one is one of the greatest challenges we will experience in life and the impact of the pandemic often made our grief even harder to bear."