Coronavirus: 'Kind, caring and fun' Marie Curie nurse Barbara Sage dies with COVID-19
Barbara Sage, 68, is the first member of the Marie Curie nursing team to die with coronavirus.
Sunday 19 April 2020 13:32, UK
A Marie Curie nurse who spent more than 40 years working in palliative care has died after contracting COVID-19.
Barbara Sage was "kind, caring and fun" and "a beautiful person" who had "an absolute passion" for her work.
She is the first member of the Marie Curie nursing team to die with coronavirus.
The 68-year-old, from Bromley in south London, lost her life in intensive care.
She has been described as dedicated and caring, always putting her patients first.
Calling her death "devastating", the chief executive of Marie Curie, Matthew Reed, said Ms Sage spent her life holding the hands of dying people but her relatives could not hug her in her final moments.
He said: "The family couldn't hold Barbara's hand as she was dying. They couldn't hug her goodbye.
"This pain is something that so many families are having to go through right now."
He also said she was a "beautiful person" with a real passion for her job.
Ms Sage's daughter Donna said: "Mum was kind and caring and fun. She loved life, her family, her grandkids and she loved her job."
She added: "Because Mum had been there when people had taken their last breaths and laid out so many bodies, she wasn't afraid of death.
"That's something I take comfort from right now. She used to say to me that life was like a light bulb, one minute it's there, and then ping, it goes, it's still hot but the light starts to fade away.
"That's how she described being there with someone in their last moments."
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Marie Curie clinical nurse manager Adebusola Olalekan-Sule, who worked closely with Ms Sage, described her dedication to her job as "incredible".
She said Ms Sage would go above and beyond the call of duty, working extended hours and going without sleep to make sure her patients received the care they deserved.
She said: "If ever Barbara was off and we needed cover for a shift, she'd say: 'If the patients need me, I'll be there...' That was Barbara all over: patients first."
Ms Sage began her career as an ambulance driver in London aged 18, later going on to become a nurse.
She spent 14 years working as a Marie Curie nurse, providing vital care and support on the front line to dying patients in the community.
It's not known whether Ms Sage contracted COVID-19 in the course of her work.
So far around 50 doctors, nurses and NHS workers have died with COVID-19.
More than 114,000 people in the UK have been confirmed as being infected and over 15,000 have died.
Marie Curie workers will be marking Ms Sage's death during this week's Clap for Carers event.
Ms Sage leaves behind her partner Gerald, her children Donna and Aaron, and five grandchildren.