Terminally Ill Woman Calls For Christmas Bubble Allowance

The story below is one of the saddest I’ve heard this year. And readers, we’ve all heard some terrible things this year. I fully agree with Lesley Nelson- there should be an exception made for terminally ill people to be able to have a Christmas bubble, wherever they are- just like the exception that allowed terminally ill people to get married while other weddings were banned during the full national lockdown.

Rules are rules and I have kept all the rules all through. I would never encourage rules made for public health and safety to be broken. However, I am also all for reasonable exemptions, and as someone who has lost a terminally ill family member in the past, I believe that terminal illness is a very reasonable exemption.

I would be very happy to see the Government consider this very important point and publicly make this exemption as soon as possible.

The last-minute change to Covid rules for Christmas has affected millions.

Large parts of south-east England will not have the rules relaxed at all, and the rest of England, Scotland and Wales will see them relaxed for just Christmas Day.

For some people, this news is an inconvenience. For others, it is a disaster.

For Lesley Nelson, who has terminal cancer, it is simply “not fair”.

“I am terminally ill,” she said. “This is likely to be my last Christmas.”

“I’ve spent the last two Christmases in hospital. I have a small family. We had planned a quiet Christmas as normal – just me, my two sons, my mum and my sister.

“They are all taking care not to mix for the week before. I only see my sister two or three times a year, so this Christmas is important.”

While she will still be able to see her mum and two sons, Lesley says this may have been her last chance to spend Christmas with her sister.

“I cannot say ‘never mind, there’s always next year’ because there may not be for me.

“I have no idea when I will see my sister again. She was in my Christmas bubble.

“She lives in a tier four area and is on her own. She’s been isolating for a week, so there’s no risk at all.

“I understand what the government is doing to stop the virus, but sure they must be able to make exceptions?”