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Cyril Ward described the moving final moments with partner, Frieda |
Pensioner died days after suffering hospital fall
THE elderly partner of a 91-year-old woman who died after she broke her neck in a fall while in hospital has spoken of the “great times” they spent together since they fell in love in their 70s.
Retired builder Cyril Ward, 86, first met Frieda Zell Paterson, of Godfrey House, Old Street, in a pensioners’ club in Central Street 13 years ago.
The two travelled the world together before Mrs Paterson suffered a stroke in 2006 and began to require regular medical attention.
The former cashier died after falling during a supervised shower at University College London Hospital (UCLH) in June this year. Mr Ward said: “Frieda is gone now, but we had a great time together. We went everywhere, to Australia and Europe. She used to call me her ‘toyboy’ because I was five years younger than her. She loved walking, but after the stroke she was bed-ridden. The accident brought her to heaven.”
An inquest into Mrs Paterson’s death held at St Pancras Coroner’s Court yesterday (Thursday) heard how Mr Ward had visited her every day she was in hospital.
Veronica Barrett-Hall, the staff nurse who had been washing Mrs Paterson when she fell on June 6, said the patient, who suffered from stomach and heart complications, had complained of feeling sick.
“Her shoulders came up to retch and unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to catch her. Her legs were folded [under] the chair so she just toppled,” she said.
Dr Catherine Harvey, a consultant physician at UCLH, said Mrs Paterson’s deteriorating medical condition had been accelerated by the fall and she began to require “more intensive nursing than could be provided on a general ward”.
She was transferred to intensive care, but indicated she did not wish to have life-prolonging treatment. Mrs Paterson died shortly after being admitted to St Joseph’s Hospice for “terminal care” on June 17.
Mr Ward said his last words to her as she lay dying had been “I love you”. She replied, “I love you too”.
Returning a verdict of accidental death, coroner Dr Andrew Reid said that Mrs Paterson had died “as a result of an accident in the context of pre-existing medical conditions”. |
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