For a week Rob Tuppen battled for his life in hospital after being struck down with coronavirus.
But tragedy struck the day after 28-year-old was finally discharged from hospital when he found his mum, Linda, dead in bed after losing her fight against Covid-19.
Heartbreakingly, his little brother, James, is fighting the killer bug.
The 23-year-old became ill just hours after his mum's death and Rob had to call paramedics to rush him to hospital.
Selfless Linda had been caring for Rob after he fell ill with coronavirus when he returned from a stag party in Poland in early March.
But when his condition deteriorated he was admitted to Royal Bolton Hospital.
His 66-year-old mum, who suffered with mild asthma, sent him a message while he was in hospital to say she 'wasn't feeling great' but insisted it was her sinuses and she was otherwise fine.
Just 24 hours later, and just five days after she first felt ill, tragic Linda lost her fight for life.
The following day, son James, 23, who also suffers with asthma, was rushed to hospital with a soaring fever and struggling to breathe.
Thankfully, James has now been discharged from hospital after two weeks and is being cared for in isolation with Rob at home.
Rob, a keen rugby player, said: "Mum's world revolved around me and James. It's going to be a struggle without her."
Linda, a former teacher and nursery nurse from Bolton, Greater Manchester who was well known as the vice chairman of her local Neighbourhood Watch, became ill on Monday, March 23.
Her symptoms escalated to pain in her sinuses and she stayed in bed for the following two days.
Rob explained: "I spent a week in hospital and was relieved to get home. But when I finally got home, mum was in bed unwell.
"I called 111 but mum didn't want to make fuss and refused to speak to them. She said they would be busy with all the people with the virus. She said she just wanted to rest and have a sleep."
Heartbreakingly, when Rob went to check on her the next morning and he found she had passed away in bed.
He said: "It was such a shock. It didn't seem real. Mum just lay there on her bed. I shouted 'mum, mum,' but she didn't answer.
"I was doing chest compressions until the ambulance came. I was still in the room when he came over and said she was gone.
"It's devastating, we lost our father in 2008, so we're pretty much on our own now. She was a kind, loving lady who adored me and James and would have done anything for us.
"She always used to say that we are were her lives. She would do anything for anyone."
Rob now hopes his family's tragedy will force other people to treat coronavirus seriously.
He said: "This is serious. This is not a joke; this could happen to anyone.
Rob says he could have contracted the virus after the trip to Krakow in Poland or a weekend break with pals in Milan, Italy.
He said: "They were fine when I came back, but then I got ill, and they've picked it up off me because my mum was looking after me while I was ill.
"She was putting a cloth over her mouth, but it obviously didn't work."
At its peak, Rob described feeling so exhausted by coronavirus he would almost black out walking from his bed to his door.
He said: "My temperature was sky high; I was either freezing cold and shivering, then other times I was burning up with a raging fever.
"The cough is really bad, when you're coughing you feel like you can't stop. Your body aches and even the smallest of tasks, like going to the toilet, is one of the hardest things you can do.
"It got to the point where I was really dehydrated, and I couldn't eat for a week. And because I wasn't eating, when I stood up, I felt like I was going to pass out.
"I would have to run from the toilet to my room, which is about five steps, because I felt like I was going to black out."
A fundraising page has been set up to help Rob and James through this devastating time. To donate, click here.
