Ms Great Britain finalist 2020 releases a tearful video plea for the public to stay at home after her mother, 66, 'died alone' of Covid-19 and her father is now battling the virus in the same hospital

• Exclusive: Ms Great Britain finalist 2020 has shared a tearful plea begging the public to stay at home
• Her mother Judi, 66, from South London, died of Covid-19 and her father is now in hospital battling the virus 
• Told how her mother died alone and she is now having to organise a funeral which her father may not be able to attend 

 A Ms Great Britain finalist 2020 has shared a tearful plea begging the public to stay at home after her mother, 66, died of Covid-19 and her father is now in hospital battling the virus.

Model and credit controller Kat Henry, 36, from Oxted, told how her mother Judi was rushed to hospital in Thornton Heath, London, on Monday 23rd March after displaying a fever of 39.5 degrees.

Sadly, she passed away the next day, just 15 minutes after the hospital asked Kat to come in. The devout Catholic passed away alone, with her family unable to say goodbye before she died.

Now Kat, whose 19-year-old daughter Mya was particularly close to Judi, has revealed that her retired father Robert, 67, is battling coronavirus in the same hospital, and has already suffered three heart attacks.

Kat told Femail how she is now struggling to organise a funeral for her mother, a choir leader at St Andrew's RC Church in Thornton Heath for 50 years, who would have loved a full church funeral with singing, and has had to scale it down to a cremation with only a handful of people present - which her father may not make.

Ms Great Britain finalist Kat Henry, 36, from Oxted, shared a tearful plea begging the public to stay at home after her mother, 66, died of Covid-19 and her father is now in hospital battling the virus

Explaining how the family resisted seeing Judi to protect her as she was high risk, Kat revealed how her mother had overcome being in a medically induced coma for five weeks after contracting pneumonia back in 2012, and had three carers as she now battled with rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes among other illnesses. 

She said: 'We prevented my daughter Mya from attending to her to protect her health, however her other carers continued to care for her. 

We could not spend Mother's Day with her which was incredibly sad. I wrote an ode to her on Facebook which I fear she never got to read, as she had already started to feel poorly.'

Remembering how fast her mother deteriorated, Kat said: 'She had been suffering with a urine and kidney infection prior so she was already feeling unwell but she did not have any typical COVID symptoms at that time. 

'On Monday 23rd March, she was displaying a fever of 39.5 degrees so we called the paramedics who rushed her to hospital. That was the last time I spoke to her. 

Tragically, her mother passed away just a day later, surrounded by nursers.

Model and credit controller Kat Henry, 36, from Oxted, told how her mother Judi (seen when Kat was a child with her father Robert) was rushed to hospital in Thornton Heath, London, on Monday 23rd March after displaying a fever of 39.5 degrees

Kat said: 'The following day we were told her health had deteriorated and suggested we make our way to the hospital. By the time I reached the hospital, she had passed away, some 15 minutes after they had called me asking me to come in. 

'Her cause of death was noted as COVID-19/Pneumonia. She died alone – my Mum would have hated that. Instead she was surrounded by only doctors and nurses. She was a devout Catholic, so would have wanted to have her last rites, but this was not possible as she passed so quickly.'

Kat was further devastated when her father Robert was also rushed to the same hospital.

She said: 'My father has lung disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) so he was taken to hospital on Friday 27th March as he could not breathe, and he eventually tested positive for COVID-19. 

'He has suffered 3 mild heart attacks whilst in hospital, he has never had any heart complications prior to this. 

In Kat's heartfelt video plea , she is seen breaking down as she begs the British public: 'The one person we were trying to protect contracted Covid-19 and as a result is no longer here with us.'

'The consultant suggested the virus could either be causing these episodes or it could have unearthed an unknown underlying condition or simply the loss and grief of losing his ex-wife could be causing him to suffer with 'broken heart syndrome'.

'Whilst my mother and father divorced back in 1996 they had remained amicable and my father had been lodging in the family home so he could help care for her. 

'He has suffered the loss hard, they spent every day together for a number of years, he has lost his best friend.'

Thankfully he is showing signs of recovery, with Kat continuing: 'He is now stable and showing great signs of recovery, they have been weaning him off additional oxygen and we hope to have him home in time for Mum's funeral.'

She added: 'I am very lucky to have the support of my partner Andy and daughter Mya. We all miss my Mother a great deal, she was the glue that held our family together. Mya and my mother were the best of friends'.

Now Kat, whose 19-year-old daughter Mya was particularly close to Judi, has revealed that her retired father Robert, 67, seen, is battling coronavirus in the same hospital, and has already suffered three heart attacks

In Kat's heartfelt video plea, she is seen breaking down as she begs the British public: 'The one person we were trying to protect contracted Covid-19 and as a result is no longer here with us. 

'So, the reason I'm making this video is basically to make it a little more real. My mum went into hospital on Monday morning with a temperature 39.5°C. 

'By 2.45pm on Tuesday morning mum had passed away and the worst part of it was she passed away on her own because of social distancing. 

'So, it's not nice and it doesn't really hit home until you hear it about someone you know... You don't want this to happen to your family guys. So, please stay at home. Don't go out.'

Kat told Femail how she is now struggling to organise a funeral for her mother, a choir leader at St Andrew's RC Church in Thornton Heath for 50 years, who would have loved a full church funeral with singing, and has had to scale it down to a cremation with only a handful of people present

Speaking to Femail about the video, she added: 'Even though I am grieving I wanted to make sure I did my part to help save lives, so I recorded a video on YouTube asking people to #StayTheFKHome – hoping that by sharing my story it would make it more real for people who were not taking it seriously enough. 

'It has been viewed over social media over 8,000 times. I just want people to understand the severity of this situation, we need to be responsible in our actions right now and I hoped that by sharing it would do some good.'

Kat's friend Claire Hynes has now launched a fundraiser to help her raise the £3,000 needed for the scaled back cremation of her mother.

Speaking to FEMAIL, she said: 'Organising a funeral is always challenging but especially right now given the current climate. Kat has been a great friend to many of us and I want to help her and her family as much as I can during this difficult time. I thought one way to do this might be to help raise some money for the funeral.'

Kat said: 'I am very lucky to have the support of my partner Andy and daughter Mya.' (both seen with Judi)

Kat added: 'My mother has a huge church community of people who would usually be heavily involved in anything she did. 

'My mother was very loved and well respected by her friends and family and would have wanted a full church funeral with singing, music, food and a huge celebration of her life.

'We have to scale that down to a cremation with only a handful of people present which is simply not enough to commemorate her life and contribution to all of our lives. 

'So many people would have wanted to be present including her older brother who lives in Sommerset, younger sister who lives in Canada and a whole host of relatives from both South Africa and Canada, but due to the social distancing and travel restrictions, there is no way for that to happen. 

'I plan to try and provide a way for her closest family and friends to view a remote stream of the service so we can stand in prayer together. I hope that one we can all move freely again, I can arrange a proper memorial and celebration of life for her that she would have loved and deserved'. 

The whole family: Kat seen with daughter Mya, partner Andy, and her parents Judi and Robert