Former Pyes Pa resident Roy Walmsley says 2020 was the year from hell, starting with losing his wife. Photo / Supplied
Former Pyes Pa resident Roy Walmsley says 2020 was the year from hell, starting with losing his wife. Photo / Supplied
For former Tauranga resident Roy Walmsley, 2020 was the "year from hell".
He lost the love of his life in a car crash, got stuck in the UK after borders closed, his elderly mother contracted Covid-19 and nearly died, then he contracted the virus, suffered a major angina attack andhad three strokes.
Speaking exclusively to the Bay of Plenty Times, Walmsley said he had "been to hell and back" in 2020, starting with the death of his beloved wife.
On February 8, Susan Joyce Walmsley, 64, died after a three-vehicle collision on the Tauranga Eastern Link on February 5.
Sue Walmsley, the first of the 17 fatal crash victims on the Western Bay of Plenty roads last year, had been the deputy principal at Pyes Pa School since 2001.
The couple, who had been together for 40 years, relocated to Tauranga from Windermere in the Lakes District in Cumbria, England, in 1996.
They would have celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary on August 7 last year.
Susan Joyce Walmsley, 64, died in Tauranga Hospital on February 8 after a crash on the TEL. Photo / Supplied
At the time of Sue's death, she and her husband were in the process of finalising plans to build their retirement home on a section in the Matata foothills.
Following his heartbreaking loss, Walmsley accompanied his 30-year-old daughter Gabby, who lives in Manchester, back to the United Kingdom.
"I only intended staying 18 days, but the Covid-19 lockdown happened 10 days later and then Emirates cancelled their flights on March 25 and I was stuck in the UK."
Four days later, his mother Jessie Noel Walmsley, 89, who lives in the coastal town of Grange-Over-Sands in the Lakes District, was diagnosed with the virus.
Walmsley said his mother spent five days in nearby Furness General Hospital and he feared she may die.
"My brother even rang the undertakers to give them the heads up that she might not make it. Thankfully my mother is almost back to full health apart from balance issues."
Walmsley said because of the lockdown the district nursing staff weren't able to do home visits, so he pretty much had cared for his mother alone for almost five months.
On March 29, he began suffering from Covid-19 symptoms, requiring half a dozen hospital visits, including when he had a "massive angina attack" on September 21.
Walmsley said it was a huge shock as he had not experienced any major problems since having a triple bypass in June 2017.
About a week later his blood pressure shot up "incredibly high" and tests revealed there were blood flow blockages in two muscles in his heart.
"On October 25 I also suffered three minor strokes and ended up in the hospital again which on top of everything else has really knocked my body around.
"I have been to hell and back. Without Sue, it has been an incredibly lonely and scary time, especially knowing that my mother could easily have died too."
An emotional Walmsley said Christmas was an extra special time for his family, as his daughter Gabby was born on Christmas Eve and his mother turned 89 on Christmas Day.
"And Sue would have turned 65 on January 5. We had planned to have an extra special birthday and retirement celebration together," he said.
"It's hard to even put into words how I feel about losing Sue. We were together for 40 years and being back in the UK, there were many reminders of our life together.
"It's very hard to come to terms with Sue's death. I don't really think I've had time to grieve yet. It hasn't really hit me yet."
Walmsley said he took comfort from knowing his late wife touched countless lives over her 64 years - and even in death she had done so by donating her organs.
"I miss Sue so much, she was my best friend and soulmate. Life will never be the same."
He flew back to New Zealand alone this week and arrived in Auckland on January 5 which he said had been "quite an emotional" journey.
"I had mixed feelings about leaving my mother ... but I know I have to give myself some private space to grieve properly, and to try make some sense of it all."
Walmsley is now in a managed isolation at the Grand Millennium Auckland hotel for two weeks, which was formerly known as Rendezvous Hotel.
"The irony of staying here and arriving back on Sue's birthday does not escape me. The Rendezvous used to be our favourite haunt whenever we visited Auckland."
Walmsley said in his wife's memory he would continue with their plans to build their dream retirement home in Matata, which their son Niall, 32, would help to build.
"I know it's what Sue would have wanted me to do."
