Covid: 'Never apart' Camelon couple reunited after hospital stays

A Falkirk couple who had never been apart in more than 50 years have been reunited after being separated in hospital after contracting coronavirus.

Jim Tierney, 85, and his wife May, 83, ended up in separate rooms on a coronavirus ward at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert.

The Camelon couple, who celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June, were admitted after Mr Tierney collapsed.

Mr Tierney was allowed home on Monday, several days after his wife.

After two weeks in hospital, Mr Tierney told BBC Scotland he had been determined to return home to his family as soon as possible.

He said: "That's all that was in the back of my mind - get well and get home.

"When you're lying in bed and it's just four walls and the ceiling, you say to yourself I've got to keep myself going."

Mr Tierney was so unwell he cannot remember much of his stay.

He said: "I never knew an awful lot when I was in, but coming near the end I realised the nurses worked night and day on me to get my oxygen down."

Mrs Tierney said: "Yes, I was worried about him, but the staff were great.

"You were in this ward with four beds and you weren't even allowed out into the corridor.

"I could phone him and they took me to his bed and they let me stay for about 10 or 15 minutes.

"I was glad to see him coming home on Monday because I knew how upset he was."