A London bus driver, he loved classic British comedies and had planned a retirement full of golf
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Rodrick Silva is still coming to terms with all of it: the fact that his dad is dead; how he died – in front of him, basically. “I’m in shock,” says the 33-year-old product developer from Wandsworth, south London. “It all happened so suddenly.” Rodolfo Silva – known to all as Rudy – started to feel unwell on 24 March and self-isolated at the family home.
In the early hours of 3 April, Rudy called 111. “He didn’t look well,” Rodrick says. “I was concerned.” The 111 adviser told Rudy to keep self-isolating and take paracetamol. At about 2am, Rodrick went to check on his dad. He was not breathing. “I did CPR for 20 minutes,” he says. When the paramedics arrived, they took over. “They were trying to resuscitate him as I watched,” says Rodrick. “It was traumatic.” Rudy never came around. He was 58.
