Heartbroken Gemma Collins lays beside extremely ill dad and holds his hand as he battles coronavirus
GEMMA Collins has shared a picture of her laying beside and holding the hand of her extremely ill dad as he battles coronavirus.
The heartbroken star wants her followers to take the deadly virus seriously and admitted she's heartbroken and scared.
She wrote: "Covid is so scary lying next to my dad holding his hand right now.
"I am sharing this to create awareness of how real Covid is."
Yesterday Gemma revealed both her parents tested positive for coronavirus — and her dad told her he would "rather be dead".
The Towie star took to Instagram to share the devastating news that Alan and Joan Collins are "extremely unwell" and said her father broke down in tears after the deadly bug took hold.
Gemma, who lives in Essex which is currently in Tier 4 lockdown, begged her 2million followers to follow the Government guidelines to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The 39-year-old penned: "Please please please take notice of the guidelines ! Both my parents are extremely unwell with Covid 19 !
"Seeing my dad cry which he never does ! Was a shock and say he would rather be dead then experience everything his is going through right now... this has totally wiped him out and it’s heartbreaking �� my mum also is extremely extremely unwell with Covid also, this is real !
"And please please take notice and keep your loved ones SAFE 🙏🏻 it really is petrifying �� what a difference a year makes"
Gemma's fans rallied around her sending messages of support, with one writing: "Wishing them both a speedy recovery xx"
One more commented: "Oh Gemma ❤️ sending lots of love to them both x"
Another said: "I'm so sorry to hear this.Stay strong.❤️"
Gemma is incredibly close to her parents and recently told The Sun last month that she had been checking in with her mum more often this year during lockdown.
She said: "My mum has been good as gold to be honest, she has been vulnerable and we’ve done all we can to make sure she has remained safe and we check in on each other more often than we normally would, just checking that everyone’s mental health is OK helps."
Joan battled pneumonia in hospital in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The former Towie star explained her mum suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and so is more prone to infections.
Gemma wrote: "Thank you to all the nurses who helped my mum she's had pneumonia and on the mend NHS thank you thank you so over stretched right now my mum has rheumatoid arthritis and is high risk to infection."
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The condition has Joan in and out of the hospital, and she also has to use a wheelchair to get around.
Gemma has previously opened up about the "two years of hell"; her mum suffered while fighting the illness.
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She told The Sun: "I always tried to be really strong, so when I was with her I was happy, upbeat, like ‘Come on mum, you’re gonna be alright!’
"Then I’d leave the house, get in my car and cry for hours."