Emotional moment care worker is reunited with asthmatic daughter, seven, for the first time in almost TWO MONTHS after she was sent to live with her father over fears she could catch coronavirus
- Lisa Cave, 40, made decision to send daughter Ruby, seven, to her father’s house
- Ruby has asthma and respiratory problems and Lisa did not want to infect her
- To protect her, the care worker did not see her daughter for seven weeks
- She could not wait any longer and drove ten miles to hug her dressed in PPE suits
- The mother, from Stalham, Norfolk, is calling for people to stay at home
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
A care worker who was forced to send her seven-year-old daughter to live with her father for her own safety due to coronavirus was reunited with her little girl for the first time in seven weeks.
An emotional video shows the moment Lisa Cave, 40, from Stalham, Norfolk, was able to see her daughter Ruby Cave, who suffers from severe asthma and respiratory problems.
Due to the nature of her job the mum-of-one made the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to send Ruby to stay with her father Paul Griffiths, 48.
Lisa said it felt like ‘someone had ripped my heart out’ after she said goodbye to her daughter on March 26.
Lisa Cave, 40, hugs her daughter Ruby, seven, for the first time in nearly two months in an emotional video after she drove ten miles to hold her while wearing a PPE suit
Lisa said making the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to send Ruby to her dads felt like ‘someone had ripped my heart out’
Last week she decided she could not wait any longer and drove the ten miles to Paul’s house in Mundesley, Norfolk, to give her daughter a big surprise.
She said: ‘I got all this PPE equipment on order and I phoned her dad about a week beforehand and told him I just needed a cuddle.
‘I went round there last Wednesday. She didn’t recognise me to begin with because I was all suited up in the protective clothing.
‘But when she realised it was me she flew into my arms and just sobbed. She kept telling me she loves me and misses me.’
Lisa added: ‘That cuddle is going to get me through the next few weeks.’
She said it was not an easy decision to make to send Ruby to live with Paul, who is furloughed from work and can therefore take care of Ruby full-time.
But she said: ‘I couldn’t risk being the one to infect her because of where I work.
‘Ruby has very severe asthma, and suffers from croup, which closes the airwaves.
‘She’s been in and out of hospital a lot in her short life – about half the time she has an asthma attack she ends up in hospital.
Lisa decided to send Ruby, who has severe asthma and respiratory problems, to her dads to avoid infecting her with coronavirus
‘Luckily, she’s very intelligent for her age and she understands why mummy can’t be with her.
‘Paul has been cracking. He’s had schoolwork lined up for her every day of the week, and he’s teaching her French and Spanish.’
Since her daughter left Lisa said she felt lost despite Facetiming Ruby everyday. One of her friends said to her it was like she was grieving.
Lisa said: ‘Her dad has been fantastic – I can’t praise him enough. Of all the people in the world I couldn’t ask for a better dad for her.
‘But she’s a real mummy’s girl, she always has been. She’s been really upset she can’t have her mummy cuddles before bedtime.’
And now, the mother-of-one is calling for people to stay at home so that she can be reunited with Ruby again soon.
She said: ‘This ‘stay alert’ business is diabolical. People are so confused – stay alert from what? It’s an invisible virus.
‘Just stay at home. There are so many key workers out there who have been parted from their loved ones, and my heart aches for them as I know what they’re going through.
‘If you’re able to be with your family, please stay home so I can see my child again.’