My Year: Harrogate district mayor’s year brought one of ‘darkest moments’

The Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate, Cllr Stuart Martin, has had his mayoral year extended after Harrogate Borough Council was unable to hold its annual mayor-making ceremony in May. However, that was just one minor event in what has been an extraordinary year for Cllr Martin and his wife April, as he tells the Stray Ferret:

Little did I know when 2020 started that it would be a year like no other and one that would have a great personal impact on myself and my wife April.

I had been elected to the office of the Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate in May 2019, which was a great honour. A very busy year ensued, with April and I attending many different and varied events. About February, approximately eight months into our Mayoral year, news was circulating around the world of a virus that was making many people seriously ill and unfortunately resulting in many of those infected, dying.

We had our main fund-raising activity planned and it took place in the March, a Black-Tie Ball event raising £10,000 for Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The ball was a magnificent affair and everyone really enjoyed it. We didn’t know it at the time but this was to be our last event before the whole country went into the first lockdown.

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Sadly, the week following our ball, April began to feel unwell – at this stage we were unsure if it was coronavirus. However, within a few days she started displaying symptoms that suggested it was. She had developed an awful hacking cough so we followed the government guidance and self-isolated for 14 days just in case.

As time went on, April became worse, necessitating a call to 111, however the paramedics who visited didn’t feel April was ill enough to go to hospital, which was something April as a former nurse wanted to avoid. However, despite continuing to care for her at home she became so breathless, made even worse by the continued hacking cough. We had no alternative but to call 999; this time April was taken to Harrogate A&E.

This was to become one of the darkest moments of my life. I was told I was not allowed to go with her but I could say goodbye in the back of the ambulance, which I did and I went back inside my house.

This is when I realised, I may never see or speak with April ever again. April was admitted through the emergency department where she was stabilised before being sent to the Intensive Care Unit. We are a close family, but we were not allowed to meet other members of the family. I was left feeling bereft and alone: what do I do, who do I turn too?

Later that night, I had a conversation with the consultant who informed me that April was critically ill and only time would tell if she would pull through.

The turning point was when April came onto a normal ward, still very ill but at least we were able to speak and see each other through modern technology – what a relief and joy that was. In time, April was discharged home and her slow recovery began; in fact, some six months later she still experiences breathlessness and fatigue.

Harrogate’s Mayor Cllr Stuart Martin with his wife April, in their formal robes and chains.

My thanks go to not only the skilled medical staff who did save her life and to whom I will be forever grateful, but also to the ancillary staff who played an enormous part in April’s recovery, many of you who I know offered your own prayers and words of kindness at this terrible time. We were so grateful to those people who dropped off meals at our door and for all the good wishes we received.

Thankfully, we were able to move on with our year, many meetings being held over zoom. We have managed to attend events albeit socially distanced and wearing masks around the district, these included planting of bulbs in the Valley Gardens, visiting an elderly lady for her birthday, attending Remembrance services in a very different way and very early in the morning, to name but a few. However, we now have hope for the future with the vaccine rolling out across the country.

My thoughts are with all of those families who were not as lucky as myself: over 60,000 and the death toll continues to rise. I hold deep in my heart the staff at Harrogate District Hospital. My thoughts also go to the many local and national businesses who have suffered greatly, so many people have lost jobs. Finally, in the festive season, I think about our communities and the efforts and sacrifices made by everyone.

I wish everybody a very Happy, healthy Christmas, stay safe, enjoy the festivities with those you can and look forward to rebuilding our lives in 2021.

Main photo: Andrew Dobbs Photograph