A GREENOCK woman whose husband and father died within six months of each other has donated £20,000 to the NHS services that cared for her loved ones. 

Dawn Barilli, 40, lost her beloved husband Joe Cooke when he passed away suddenly in May 2023 at the age of just 42. 

Her grief was compounded when her much-loved dad, Don Barilli, died in October after a battle with bone marrow cancer. 

In the aftermath of Joe and Don's passing, Dawn and her friends and family raised money to thank staff at both Inverclyde Royal Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley for their care. 

Joe Cooke
Fundraising events included a walk from Inverclyde to Parkhead, the Kiltwalk, and a memorial fun day on the anniversary of Joe's death. 

Dawn, who is mum to Reece, 22, and 18-year-old Lennon, said the care her husband and father received was 'phenomenal'. 

She added: "All of the fundraising has kept me going. It's kept me sane.

"I chose the RAH and IRH because I wanted to thank the staff for the phenomenal care given to both Joe and my dad.

"I wanted to keep all of the donations local, and I wanted each individual unit to benefit.

"I also wanted to say thank you to the paramedics and the district nursing team for the support they provided."

Dawn, a district nurse, has given £10,000 to the IRH renal unit, £5,000 to the haematology/oncology service at the IRH, and £5,000 to the RAH intensive care unit.

The courageous mum also donated £5,000 to Inverclyde charity Mind Mosaic to thank the team for the support they've provided to her and her two sons. 

(Image: NHS GGC)
(Image: NHS GGC)
Another £1,000 has gone to Ardgowan Hospice, and Dawn has donated money locally which will help buy football strips for New Scots who have arrived in Inverclyde. 

Dawn, who had been with Joe for 23 years, shared her husband's story with the Telegraph in February this year. 

READ MORE: Devoted friends and family pay tribute to Joe Cooke

Joe passed away after spending five days in intensive care at the RAH.

He had undiagnosed polycystic kidney disease that led to him collapsing with an aneurysm and going into cardiac arrest.

Dawn performed CPR on Joe until her friend Gillian Stewart, who is a district charge nurse, arrived and took over. 

Joe was in a coma in intensive care before doctors realised that he would not recover. 

Dawn says the one-to-one care Joe received before his passing was 'fantastic'. 

She added: "He had the same nurse, Debbie Spencer, for four of the five days.

"She was only supposed to be working three of those but I remember her staying on and doing an extra shift so she could be with him.

"They were so compassionate and the way they supported us at such a difficult time was amazing."

Dawn said her dad Don's cancer had been 'relatively stable' until Joe passed away. 

Don Barilli
She believes the downturn in his health was down to the devastation he felt at losing his son-in-law. 

Dawn added: "He couldn't cope seeing me unable to cope and his health just declined.

"By the October his cancer had spread and he passed away."

Dawn recently visited all of the services which have cared for her family, and donated the money. 

Melanie McColgan, director of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's Clyde sector, said: "We are grateful to Dawn and her friends and family for all of their fundraising efforts, particularly at such a difficult time for them.

"The proceeds are going into the endowment funds for the RAH and IRH, and we thank the family for this generosity.

"Dawn's words about our staff and the services we deliver are incredibly kind and I know they are very much appreciated by our dedicated staff members."