‘It's a nightmare. We followed all the rules': Devastated fiancée of man, 32, who died of Covid begs Britons to take the pandemic seriously as she is left to bring up their son, three, by herself

The fiancée of a previously healthy man who died in hospital after a two-week fight with Covid-19 has begged Britons to take the virus seriously.

Sam Akadi, 32, suddenly started displaying symptoms on January 7 and took a test the next day which came back positive.

When his cough worsened he and partner Amy Skallist, 31, called 111 who told them to go to hospital immediately.

But within days basketball fan Sam's condition worsened and he needed help breathing before being put in a coma when doctors could do no more.

Sam Akadi, 32, died on Friday after a two-week battle with Covid, leaving behind fiancee Amy, 31, and son Isaac, three

The loving dad, pictured with young son Isaac, started displaying symptoms on January 7 and a Covid test the next day confirmed the diagnosis

RELATED ARTICLES

• Previous
• 1
• Next

• Britain's coronavirus cases fall again amid 'scaremongering'... Britain breaches 1,000 daily Covid deaths for first time...

Share this article

Sam, who had a three-year-old son Isaac with partner Amy, died on Friday.

Amy, who lives in Bromley, south east London, says those who recklessly ignore lockdown rules should follow the guidelines- or they could be next.

She told the Mail Online: 'I just think this is your worst nightmare. If people don't start listening the pandemic will just go on and there will be more heartbreak.

'We have followed all the rules, we both work from home, done everything we should have done. We worked out the only places he had been was the chemist and using a petrol pump. You just don't know.

'When it started he got a bit of a cough and that same evening he got a temperature and had tremors. We took him to be tested the next day and it was positive. He was in the bedroom isolating but kept coughing and couldn't breathe properly.

'We went to hospital and he was admitted, eventually going to ICU because he needed more oxygen and then went on ventilation. At the end the hospital phoned us and said we should go to see him. Before that we weren't allowed to see him at all.

Amy is begging people to take the virus seriously or she says you could be the next person to lose a loved one

'The nurses and doctors you could see were so tired. Sam wasn't the only person they lost that day.

'If you're someone who dismisses Covid you're not going to understand until you're the one either sitting in the chair with someone in a hospital bed or you're in the bed dying.'

Sam and Amy met as teenagers through friends and the couple were together for 15 years.

Their wedding plans were temporarily put back when little Isaac arrived.

The engaged couple were together for 15 years. Amy described her partner as 'always happy' 

After Sam's positive test Amy arranged for herself and her son to get tested and was shocked when both came back positive, despite neither of them showing any symptoms.

Amy, who is a people development advisor at Superdrug, added: 'He was such a great guy.

'The party didn't start until Sam arrived. He was always happy and loved people.

'He was fighting the virus so hard. He never smoked and was pretty healthy. We followed the rules and it still happened.

'Because of his age Isaac doesn't really understand and keeps asking where Daddy is, which is hard.

'I saw on the news on Friday 1,401 people died. Sam was that one.'