Elderly Eastbourne couple with coronavirus ‘keeping each other going’

Husband and wife of 69 years, Albert (Bill) and Betty Bryant are currently being treated on the same ward at Eastbourne District General Hospital (DGH).

Family are unable to see them, so nurses snapped a heartwarming photo of the pair together with a message letting them know they are being well looked after.

Their son Tony said, “With dad’s heart issues and Mums lung disease we feared the worse. But this war generation – they were both evacuees – are made of titanium.

“The staff at the DGH were smitten with them as they are both on Westham ward, where they had lunch and cuddles together.”

Tony said staff burst into tears after taking the photo of Bill and Betty, who are 93 and 89 respectively.

“It’s sad but also not so sad,” Tony said, “They are in different sections but it’s nice they are in together and they are close. The nurses wheel them to lunch together.”

Having a baby in lockdown: Eastbourne womaan shares ‘surreal’ experience

Despite significant health issues, before this happened Betty and Bill had been living in their bungalow in Cormorant Close.

As the pandemic got worse, their children decided it was best for them to spend lockdown in Grange House care home, where they were ‘treated like royalty’.

But after episodes of breathing issues, around 10 days ago they were both taken to Eastbourne DGH, where they tested positive for covid-19.

Tony, 66, said, “What astounds me is you that people over 70 are really at risk. My dad’s got a heart condition and yet he’s just fought through this.

“My mum’s got COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), new hips, finding it difficult to move. Yet she’s dealt through with it.

“I think it’s because the two of them are together. They almost keep each other going.”

Tony said, “The staff in the hospital have been absolutely tremendous. The message was really sweet, it was a nice touch when they did that, they didn’t have to.”

Bill and Betty are on the mend, Tony says, and they should be discharged from hospital in the next week or so.

However, this will be when they still have the virus, and they will have to isolate from 7-10 days.

Tony, with his brother Alan, has taken this opportunity to redecorate their bungalow.

Born in 1927 in Normans Bay, Bill was formerly in the Royal Marines but also worked as one of the last steam train drivers in Eastbourne, and later as a postman.

Betty was born in 1931, and was born and bred in Eastbourne. The pair have two sons, four grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

They wed in Eastbourne in 1951 and have lived together here ever since.

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