A YORK widow has visited the ‘Covid Memorial Wall’ in London to pay tribute her “truly amazing” husband - after he lost his battle with Covid earlier this year.

Jean Harvey lost her husband, Martin, 64, on February 15 - after an eight week battle with the virus.

After four weeks of illness, doctors at York Hospital decided to ventilate Martin - which meant putting him into a coma. He remained in the coma for four weeks until his death.

“‘Don’t panic, I love you so much’, turned out to be his last communication to me,” said Jean.

“At 64 he was certainly not an old man, but his diabetes meant he had a mountain to climb - as the doctor told me.

“The nursing staff were amazing, and I know they did everything they could to help Martin.”

Jean was unable to visit Martin in the final weeks of his life, which meant, sadly, he died alone.

“We didn’t get to say our goodbyes, and Martin died alone in the intensive care bed, without me beside him,” Jean said.

Although Jean was unable to visit her husband, she kept regular contact with him virtually over Zoom calls set up by the nurses.

Jean added: “I was grateful for this because I was able to see Martin, I could talk to him and I would play him some music.”

This also allowed Jean to play Martin recordings of his own singing from shows he had performed in - which she said “fascinated” hospital staff.

“Martin was a talented musician, he played drums for a fantastic band, Mr Swing - in which he was known as the engine room,” Jean added.

Martin was also a “fantastic” dancer - and took part in fundraising events for Martin House Hospice for Children - which he was always proud of.

After his death, Jean set up a donation page for Martin House - which raised more than £4,000 for the charity.

The pair, who were married in York in 1993, met while both were employed by Portakabin - where they discovered they were “soul-mates”, Jean said.

“Neither of us were perfect, but we were perfect for each other,” Jean added.

Jean and the rest of Martin’s family were unable to give him a full funeral due to Covid restrictions - but Jean said: “I’m sure he would have approved of the send off we gave him.”

Following Martin’s death, Jean discovered that a ‘Covid Memorial Wall’ had been set up to pay tribute to everyone who has lost their lives to the virus.

Jean said: “When I heard about the wall, I felt I had to go. Having been denied the chance to be with him at the end, I wanted to go and see his name inscribed on the wall.”

Jean travelled to London with two friends to see the wall, which displays more than 150,000 coloured hearts to honour Covid victims - including Martin’s - which was added by one of Jean’s friend’s family members. While Jean was there, she added on the words ‘Love Never Dies’, which is a musical they enjoyed.

“It was so sad to see Martin’s name among so many others, each heart representing a person lost to this vile virus.

“It was good to see their names, rather than just a statistical number on the news. Behind each name is a wife, a husband, a family grieving the loss of their loved one. It’s a very touching memorial,” Jean said.