A Co Fermanagh woman has opened up on the loss of her husband last year as she raises funds for the South West Acute Hospital unit that looked after him in his final days.
John Watson passed away aged 63 in the Enniskillen hospital last year with his wife Hilda by his side, following complications he had after suffering a number of hernias since the 1990s.
John and Hilda were well-known locally for hosting bluegrass music events in their house near Ballinamallard, where they moved from their native Co Armagh following the death of their only son Matthew in a road crash in 2011.
Coming up to the first anniversary of her husband’s death, Hilda says the last twelve months without her best friend have been difficult.
“John and myself went everywhere together, we did everything together. We were like Tweedledee and Tweedledum,” Hilda told Belfast Live.
“He would know when I wasn’t well and I would know when he wasn’t well, we were that close.
“The house is very empty now. I still think to myself I must tell John that and then you realise he’s not there, it’s a bit of a slap in the face.
“He could have turned his hand to anything and he was so modest.
“He just liked to be busy and he liked to be doing things for other people.
“I must say my family has been fantastic and the neighbours down here as well. It is overwhelming and has made things so much easier.”
John and Hilda’s son Matthew died following a road collision near Annalong 12 years ago aged just 19, with the couple moving to Co Fermanagh for a fresh start.
“It’s something you just never get over unfortunately,” Hilda said.
“Instead of dwelling on it and wallowing in it every year we decided to remember him by setting up Matty’s Legacy, which we used to fundraise for local charities.
“We’ve only been here in Fermanagh since 2017 but our friends and neighbours have just been unbelievable to us and have been a great help to me in the last year.”
Hilda is running a ‘Bluegrass in the Green Grass’ music event to honour John’s life in his favourite restaurant next month, The Moorings in Bellanaleck.
The funds raised will go towards the palliative care unit in the SWAH, which Hilda says provided remarkable support to John in his final days, as well as staff who looked after him during a previous stint in hospital.
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“John had actually been in hospital for a similar issue in 2018, and if it wasn’t for the staff in SWAH I would have been a widow five years ago,” Hilda adds.
“The care from the surgeons, consultants was second to none and it’s something that we absolutely need to keep here.
“I don’t know how many times John dodged a bullet, he had gone through so much since he first became unwell in 1996.
“The girls in the palliative team were just so nice in his final days and explained everything to us to a tee. They made sure he was comfortable and fluttered around him like butterflies.
“I just can’t describe how well they looked after us and how well cared for he was.”
The Blue Grass in the Lakelands fundraiser in memory of John Watson will take place on Saturday 20 May in The Moorings, Bellanaleck with tickets priced at £15 and all proceeds going to the palliative care unit in the South West Acute Hospital.
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