A teenager taken into foster care as her parents battled Covid-19 has today described her pain at losing her mother but her joy to be reunited with her father.
Carmina Medel, 13, was taken in by Bridgend Council while her parents were treated for ‘severe coronavirus’ in the same intensive care unit at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, South Wales.
Brave nurse Leilani Medel, 41, died on Good Friday while her husband Johnny Medel Junior, 38, spent weeks in a coma and on a ventilator. At one stage, doctors feared he also may not survive.
A distraught Carmina was left to cope with losing her mother and her father’s heroic battle against the virus while staying in a council-run home for young people as the Medels, who originate from the Philippines, have no close family in the UK.
After being reunited with her father, who was released from hospital last week following a near two-month stay, Carmina told MailOnline: ‘I’m so happy to be with my father again because I wasn’t sure if he was going to survive.
Carmina Medel, 13, (above) who was taken into foster care as her parents battled Covid-19 has today described her pain at losing her mother but her joy to be reunited with her father (above)
Brave nurse Leilani Medel, 41, died on Good Friday while her husband Johnny Medel Junior, 38, spent weeks in a coma and on a ventilator. At one stage, doctors feared he also may not survive
A distraught Carmina was left to cope with losing her mother and her father’s heroic battle against the virus while staying in a council-run home for young people as the Medels, who originate from the Philippines, have no close family in the UK
‘It’s been a very difficult time but now the most important thing is him getting back to full health and us getting on with our lives.
‘My mother was a wonderful person and I miss her a lot. It’s still very difficult for me to speak about her.’
Mr Medel, who is known as Junior, revealed that his first words to Carmina were to tell her how brave she had been while he fought for his life. He awoke from a coma on April 28, her birthday.
After arriving at his home in Bridgend, he saw Carmina for the first time since being admitted to hospital on April 1. Leilani was rushed into hospital two days before that.
He told MailOnline: ‘We have no close family in Britain and Carmina had to hear the news of her mother’s death while I was in a coma. That’s a very difficult thing for anybody, let alone a youngster.
‘I told her how proud I was of her and how brave she is because she was in foster care where she didn’t know anybody, dealing with all this. She is an amazing young woman.’
Speaking for the first time about his experience, Mr Medel admitted that he is torn by contrasting emotions.
Staff at the hospital had clapped and cheered in tribute to his ‘miraculous recovery’ as he left.
He said: ‘It was very emotional when I got home. Carmina was waiting for me and there were a lot of tears and hugging.
‘The first thing I noticed was that she had grown a bit.
Mr Medel, who is known as Junior, revealed that his first words to Carmina were to tell her how brave she had been while he fought for his life. He awoke from a coma on April 28, her birthday: ‘The first thing I noticed was that she had grown a bit’
‘But I had very contrasting emotions and still do. I was very happy that I was alive and could see my daughter again. But there is huge sorrow that my wife is no more.
‘I’m still struggling to accept her loss, it hasn’t properly sunk in yet and I’m trying to understand what has gone on.’
Mr Medel revealed that after waking up from a coma, he began to desperately ask staff about Leilani.
He was told the heart-breaking news that she had died in a Face Time call from his sister two days later.
A devout Roman Catholic, Mr Medel said that he had decided to share his story because he wanted to publicly thank all those who helped and prayed for what he calls his ‘miraculous recovery.’
He said: ‘I am a man of faith and want to thank God and all those who came to my aid: the doctors, nurses and health assistants at the Princess of Wales Hospital, especially in ward seven and the intensive care unit; the Filipino community in South Wales; Bridgend Council, who were fantastic with my daughter and all my friends, family and people around the world who prayed for me.’
He proclaimed: ‘I owe my life to them all. There are no words to describe my gratitude and the love and support they gave to me and Carmina.’
Mr Medel revealed that after waking up from a coma, he began to desperately ask staff about Leilani (left). He was told the heart-breaking news that she had died in a Face Time call from his sister two days later
A devout Roman Catholic, Mr Medel said he wanted to publicly thank all those who helped and prayed for what he calls his ‘miraculous recovery.’ Just three weeks before her death, Leilani posted a picture of herself and Carmina on Facebook adding: ‘I can’t stay at home. I’m a Nurse!’
Just three weeks before her tragic death, Leilani posted a heart-warming picture of herself and Carmina on Facebook declaring: ‘I can’t stay at home. I’m a Nurse!’
She then posted a picture of herself with Johnny and Carmina while on holiday with the words: ‘Proud to be a Nurse.’
Mr Medel said: ‘She was so committed to her profession and determined to help people. She never once worried about going to work during the coronavirus pandemic and ultimately, she made the ultimate sacrifice.’
Mr Medel originates from Davao City in the Philippines while Leilani was born and raised in Santiago, Philippines.
The couple met at university in Santiago and married in 2003, with Leilani moving to Britain in the same year when she took up a job in a nursing home in Manchester. Mr Medel joined her two years later and started working in a supermarket, which he combined with studying as he always had an ambition to start his own business.
Their daughter was born in Manchester in 2007.
The family relocated to Bridgend in 2011 when Leilani started working at the Princess of Wales Hospital. After initially working for the Red Cross in Wales, Mr Medel completed an MBA from the University of Wales and started up his own finance business.
Mr Medel said: ‘She was so committed to her profession and determined to help people. She never once worried about going to work during the coronavirus pandemic and ultimately, she made the ultimate sacrifice’
Leilani’s funeral has yet to take place and Mr Medel revealed that he hopes to arrange it later this month. Her family have already told him that they want her ashes returned to the Philippines and scattered at her favourite places.
He said: ‘We’re still not able to speak about Leilani together, that’s just the way Carmina is coping at the moment. It’s hard to accept that she has gone and that our life has been completely turned upside down. We both feel a bit lost without her.
‘Leilani was a very kind, thoughtful, loving and giving person. That’s what made her such a great nurse, mother and wife. This is giving us a lot of comfort right now and this is how we will always remember her.’