Family overjoyed after 'warrior' grandmother (94) recovers from six week coronavirus battle

With four children and ten grandchildren, her family is delighted she has beaten the virus and came home today from St Michael’s Hospital in Dún Laoghaire after two negative tests.

“Until the end of late March, she was completely living independently and only had three hours of home help a week. She cooked her own food, did her own laundry and her own cleaning,” explained her son Padraig Walsh.

He said that Máire was fighting fit and “very alert”, following the virus news updates.

“She was an avid follower of news and is very alert,” he told Independent.ie.

With a healthy diet and keeping in good shape, it was rare for her to become sick.

“She eats fruits, vegetables, meat and fish, she had a really good diet, barely any processed foods. I think that really stood to her, she did a lot of gardening chopping down twigs and i think it was the secret. She didn’t drink or smoke, all the sensible things.

She was also very physically active.

“Her activity was largely around the garden. She knew every plant and whenever we went to Lidl you’d be praying you’d get past the entrance without being stopped at the plants,” he laughed.

However, the family began noticing a change in their beloved grandmother when she started getting confused.

“She just started getting, not forgetful but asking things like, ‘What do I do now?’ and having issue answering the phone.

“By the end, she wouldn’t go up to bed but just ask, ‘What do I do now?’ almost like a child. We got panicky then,” he remembered.

“But we didn’t think twice about coronavirus because she didn’t have a cough or respiratory problems.”

When Máire was brought to hospital and tested, doctors said that delirium has been a side effect of Covid-19 in some elderly people..

Having had coronavirus himself in April, Padraig was fearful of how the illness would affect his mother.

“I got quite sick, had a very bad dry cough, I lost weight and lost my appetite,” he said.

“The biggest worry for us was that, here is a woman who had family around her all her life and she couldn’t see anybody now.

“She couldn’t understand that we couldn’t see her or come in.”

“The last ten days she just wanted to get out, but we secured home care for her and the hospital was happy for her to go home, because she would do better at home.”

Padraig added how relieved Máire is to finally be home.

“She was so pleased in the last few days and really perked up, she was delighted to go home.

“She had her birthday when she was in there, she turned 94 on April 6.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have her back and we’re very relieved.”