A message of hope

Bob Sessions has written a poem on the impact the virus is having on people - and his family.

Mr Sessions, 79, said his youngest daughter, Julie, has served in The Army for 23 years.

She has completed several tours of duty as a nurse in war zones including Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo.

Now, she is a Regimental Sergeant Major in the Queen Alexander Nursing Corps, currently based in Aldershot.

Mr Sessions revealed his daughter contacted him recently to say: ‘Dad, I have 
tested positive for coronavirus.’

He told the News: “They were the words no parent wants to hear.

“I always worried when she went to off to these dangerous countries.

“She has been to Afghanistan two or three times.

“I was worried when she told me she had coronavirus.

“Thank God, she’s OK now...she’s feeling a lot, lot better.”

Mr Sessions explained his daughter could be deployed to help an Ambulance Service in the London area, which is under intense pressure dealing with the pandemic.

Mr Sessions, who has an elder daughter and two stepdaughters, added: “You never stop worrying about your children.

In his poem, he compares the battle against coronavirus to a war - without bullets and bombs - but adds: ‘We will recover and get up off our knees.”

Mr Sessions, who was a sergeant in the Lincolnshire and Humberside police forces, ends his poem by paying tribute to the thousands of doctors, nurses and other essential workers who are putting their lives on the line to ‘tend’ to others.

We are at war, not with bullets or bombs

We are fighting a silent enemy called coronavirus

What a disease

We will recover and get up off our knees

Because war is a horrible thing

I heard the words no one wants to hear

‘Dad, I have tested positive but I will be OK’

My mouth went dry, what can I say

Because war is a horrible thing.

My daughter has fought in a few wars,

Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

She survived because I know she would.

Because war is a horrible thing.

I, with many others, have seen the planes bring back bodies from wars.

Sons, fathers, brothers, daughters

All from futile slaughters

Because war is a horrible thing

To those who tend us today, I say thank you as you offer comfort to those in need.

Our loved ones are not alone whilst heroes work

So take comfort and do not bleed.

War is a horrible thing.

To all those who give their service

Nurses, doctors, refuse collectors, bus drives

Too many to mention

Our heartfelt thanks

Let’s be proud and stand to attention

War is a horrible thing

God bless you all.