The daughter of an Andover woman who sadly died of Covid said that she was “selfless until her dying breath” after comforting her in her final moments.

Anita Black passed away on January 28 following a three week battle with the virus, with her family by her side in hospital.

Her daughter, Abbie, said that “she squeezed my hand and said she loved me” as she made her final goodbyes to her family.

“At least I had that comfort,” the 25-year-old told the Advertiser, “because not a lot of people get to say goodbye to someone they love.”

Anita was born in 1974, and her family remember her as “always happy”, overcoming her disabilities to lead a life packed with care for others. At the age of 22, she married her husband Ronald, and they were together for 25 years.

Aside from soaps, Abbie said that her mum always put her seven children first and made sure that their needs were always met. “What she loved was treating her kids to everything,” said Abbie. “We never went without.”

The family would often go shopping together, while Abbie and her mum used to visit Slimming World together as part of their routine. She said that they were planning to go back following the pandemic, something that will sadly never happen.

Anita was taken into Winchester hospital on January 6, and was confirmed to have contracted Covid-19. She was in intensive care for a period, but soon looked to be on the mend as her breathing improved. Unfortunately, that wasn’t to last.

“All of a sudden, she went downhill and we had to say goodbye to her on January 28,” Abbie said. “It was about three weeks in the hospital before she finally gave up.”

Anita was placed onto a ventilator, but sadly it wasn’t enough to save her life.

“It was horrible,” said Abbie. “I’ve never said goodbye to anyone I was close to before, and it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

“When I went to see her, she squeezed my hand and said that she loved me. At least I had that comfort, because not a lot of people get to say goodbye to someone they love.

“She was selfless until her dying breath.”

Anita passed away later that day, and the family are still processing their grief following her death.

“The family are struggling,” said Abbie. “My dad was married to her for nearly 25 years and he was mum’s carer.

“It’s the shock. I know Covid is about but you never expect someone close to you to get it.

“I wish there was a way that I could bring her back, but nothing that I say or do can ever bring her back.”

The family are now fundraising to help cover the costs of Anita’s funeral and grave, and are looking to raise £1,000 “to give her the best send off.”

“She deserved literally everything,” said Abbie. “We were going to put the money towards the funeral but we thought it might be better to put it towards the headstone.

“I’ve raised £330 for her so far. It’s still a long way to go but it’s something.”

The family want to bury her at St Peter’s Church in Over Wallop, where one of her sons is buried. They want Anita to be buried near him.

If you would like to donate towards the Black family’s fundraiser, please click here to head to the fundraising page.