This is the heartbreaking moment a dad met his baby daughter in hospital for the first time – shortly before his tragic death aged 23. George Fenlon was left in a coma after being severely injured in an attack whilst on a night out in Blackpool.
His partner Beth Turner, also 23, was heavily pregnant at the time. She gave birth to their daughter – named Clara Georgia after her dad – just two weeks before his death.
While he never regained consciousness, he was able to meet his daughter in hospital before the decision was taken to switch off his life support machine. The touching moment was captured by George’s devastated mum, Melissa.
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“Looking back now, I’m not sure how we all got through it, the range of emotions we had to go through was horrendous,” she said. “Beth wanted Clara to meet George and have a little bit of time with him so she had a C-section and she had a couple of weeks in hospital with him where she saw him every day.
“It was important that she did that because we’ve got memories, we’ve got pictures. The hospital did a lot, we’ve also got little prints of Clara’s and George’s hands together.”
Police were called at around 2am on August 15 last year to a report of an assault at The Strand in Blackpool. They found George, a bartender at Revolution Bar, had suffered serious head injuries.
He was rushed to Royal Preston Hospital and put on a life support machine but tragically died in hospital on November 22. An inquest opening heard George collapsed and lost consciousness. A post-mortem found his cause of death was complications of blunt head trauma.
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“We were all in shock, we weren’t sure what was happening. It was one of his friends who phoned, he said something had happened but no one was sure what,” Melissa continued.
“Then we heard George had gone to Royal Preston Hospital and we didn’t know why but when we got more information, we found out he had a serious head injury so Preston was the best place for him. His girlfriend was six or seven months pregnant at that time so we were all just in shock and when we saw him it was pretty horrific.”
Six months after his death, Melissa is now hoping to create a lasting legacy for her ‘fun-loving’ son. She has organised a fundraising event in July called ‘The Fenlon Football Funday’ in Stanley Park in the resort, featuring a football tournament and kids’ entertainment.
“He just wanted to make people laugh, he was a fun-loving guy and very easygoing, nothing really fazed him to be honest,” Melissa said.
“Clara’s favourite TV show is Teletubbies and he was like a big Teletubby I suppose, just daft and it’s sad that Clara will never experience that. So the fun day is for Clara and all of George’s friends, to keep his memory alive.
“George was just so popular that it’ll be nice for the youngsters of Blackpool not to be sad, but instead remember George through Clara. If it’s a success this year, I’m hoping it will be an annual event. It’s just what George was, he was a fun-loving guy who loved his football, so it’s what George would have wanted – for everyone to have a nice day.”
Revolution Bar, where George worked, is continuing the celebrations in the evening and will be creating a cocktail in his name. All proceeds will go towards Elliot’s place, a local charity dedicated to supporting young men with their mental health and wellbeing. “George’s friends have been struggling with his loss so the charity just spoke to me, it made sense,” Melissa added.
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