Northern Ireland

Donations pour in for birthday page set up by gran days before coronavirus death

Catherine Fox with daughters Sarah and Suzanne
Catherine Fox with daughters Sarah and Suzanne Catherine Fox with daughters Sarah and Suzanne

A GRANDMOTHER who set out to raise birthday money for NHS staff, just days before her death from coronavirus, has far exceeded her £120 goal.

Kathleen (Catherine) Fox, who lived in Newtownabbey, was due to celebrate her 69th birthday on Saturday.

However, she passed away last Monday in Antrim Area Hospital, having been admitted four days earlier after becoming unwell.

Mrs Fox, who had three children and seven grandchildren, had created the Facebook birthday donation page for NHS Charities Together on Saturday, when she had initially shown signs of improvement.

This morning, the amount had risen to more than £3,500, with another week yet to run and more money due to be added to it.

Her daughter Sarah Fox said: "My mum had COPD but she didn't suffer badly from it. She was always busy knitting and baking and making things, and she was devoted to her grandchildren.

"She bought a new sewing machine about three or four months go but she didn't even get to use it.

"We were speaking to her over the phone on Sunday night but I don't think she realised how ill she was. We got a call in the early hours of Monday to say she was close to death and I told her I loved her forever.

"You watch the news and you think 'that's awful, those poor families'. But you don't think it's going to be you. We just can't take it in.

"She hadn't been out of the house for five weeks and whenever we went to see her we didn't go in. We asked the doctors how she could have got it and they said it could have been picked up from deliveries coming into the house or even the bins."

She added: "Mummy was singing the praises of the staff in the hospital, which is why she wanted to raise money for them. There was one nurse, Debbie, and her and mummy seemed to bond. She even stayed with her after her shift ended and when mummy died she phoned to say how sorry she was.

"The number of messages on the Facebook page has really given us comfort. One of her friends said her smile lit up every room she went into.

"But what worries me now is that people seem to be going out more. You can't let your guard down yet."

Mrs Fox, who was brought up on the Falls Road, spent most of her working career with Prudential Insurance in Belfast as a claims handler, helping bereaved families, before becoming a staff trainer.

She was a talented table tennis player in her younger days, winning numerous tournaments and trophies, and always played an role in her community, volunteering for many youth groups.