Emotional video shows Scottish carer surprising his family after four months of being apart

The 30-year-old surprised his partner and nine-year-old daughter after months of separation.

A key worker has spoken about the heartwarming experience he had when he finally reunited with his partner and daughter after months of caring for elderly patients.

Shaun McCandless was working in Overtonlea care home in the Shetland isles for four months which provided support to older adults with dementia and palliative care.

The 30-year-old, who is expecting a baby girl in September with his partner, Iris Rogero, refrained from going back to his home in Motherwell for the entire duration of his work in order to protect those he was working with and his own family.

Shaun reuniting with his partner Iris and daughter Summer

Footage shows Shaun surprising his partner and his nine-year-old daughter Summer on returning to his home in Motherwell.

“There was tears shed by all of us that’s for sure,” Shaun said.

"But very happy tears. It’s been four long months and I’ve been through some amazing highs and some horrible lows, but I feel very proud of what myself and my colleagues accomplished and I feel very proud of my girls back home who held it all together.”

Shaun said at the start of the coronavirus outbreak, separating his family for his line of work was a hard choice to make.

But he felt strongly that being away during the peak of the outbreak was the safest option for them.

"Leaving a daughter and pregnant fiancée behind was no easy decision,” he said.

"But I felt their 100 per cent support to help me see it through to the end.”

The proud father wanted to make a special mention to his daughter Summer, who is nine-years-old, for being strong about him going away for months.

“Having to deal with her dad leaving and her mum at home pregnant, and not able to carry out her usual day-to-day routines as she normally would have, she was still cleaning up, making breakfasts, hoovering , dusting, helping her mum dress putting on her shoes and socks. She really stepped up she is just the most amazing little girl.”

Shaun, who spent his 30th alone during his four months away, said his work during lockdown was tough because of being away from his family, but also due to the condition of the residents he was supporting.

“A lot of the people we supported were very confused as to what was going on, and a good majority of them were confined to there rooms a lot of the time to prevent cross contamination and limit a potential outbreak.

"A lot of adjustments where made to our normal way of working. Breaks were staggered, social distance put in place, new PPE had to be put on for every room we entered and discarded on leaving.”

Despite the high number of coronavirus cases in care homes across the country, Shaun said Overtonlea has managed to succeed in preventing the virus getting in and there has been no recorded Covid-19 deaths to date.

"Most of the praise falls on us the ground workers, the staff,” he added.

"Every last one of my colleagues are heroes and I will miss them all. We were faced with an arms length of challenges and changes. I couldn’t be any prouder of myself and colleagues. They all deserve to be recognised for the amazing work they do.”

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