Rory Kinnear’s sister has died from Covid-19.
The ‘Quantum of Solace’ actor is devastated by the loss of his beloved sibling Karina, 48 – who suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen at birth, became paralysed from the waist down aged 19 following an operation on her spine and suffered kidney damage due to sepsis in 2014 – and revealed that their family had to say goodbye to her via FaceTime.
He wrote in The Guardian newspaper: "My sister Karina has died at the age of 48. She tested positive for coronavirus early last week and it quickly attacked her stomach, her lungs and her kidneys.
"On Saturday (09.05.20) we all variously FaceTimed her to tell her how much she meant to us and tried to raise one more of her life-affirming laughs, desperately scanning the screen for any sign of responsiveness, any sign of hope… and on Sunday (10.05.20) lunchtime we were, with great kindness and tact, told we should say our final virtual goodbyes.
"A nurse, Patricia, held up Karina’s iPad while my mum, via FaceTime on her mobile, narrated a favourite story of hers for the last time and thanked her for the happiness she had brought us all. Mum then held up her home phone to her mobile, where my other sister, Kirsty, at hers, was able to say how much she loved her and would miss her. And then Kirsty held up her husband’s phone to hers where I, on loudspeaker, from my house, played Karina one of her favourite songs and told her how proud I was to have been her brother and what gratitude I felt for what she had taught me about life."
Rory, 44, admitted the family had feared this outcome ever since they first heard about the coronavirus outbreak in Italy in February, and they knew the disease would be extremely dangerous for Karina due to her diminished lung capacity.
Praising his sister as "ebullient, brave and wry, with a passion for noise, laughter, family and chaos", Rory went on to call for "more support, more options and more recognition" in the UK for people with disabilities.
Rory Kinnear’s sister dead from Covid-19
