Wolverhampton husband's grief as wife dies before adopting

Geeta and Harjinder had been approved as adoptive parents and had created a nursery

A husband has paid tribute to his wife after she died from Covid-19, just as they were about to become adoptive parents.

Geeta Kalsi, 45, from Bilston, Wolverhampton, caught the virus in January and died in hospital.

Her husband Harjinder, 41, said: "We both wanted to be parents, it was her dream to become a mum, she would have been an amazing mum."

He is now raising money for adoption charities in his wife's memory.

Mr Kalsi, a call handler with Staffordshire Police, said: "When we couldn't conceive naturally, we decided to pursue adoption rather than the intrusive procedures of IVF.

"We were so close to achieving our dream together, we had been through the process with Adoption@Heart and were looking forward to welcoming a child into our lives.

"We had decorated the house and created a nursery in anticipation."

'Lost my soulmate'

Mr Kalsi, whose wife worked as a customer service manager at Tesco in West Bromwich, wants to encourage more people from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds to consider adoption.

"There is a stigma with some people in the Asian community around adoption, with many people not really understanding the process and those who are worried about what others may think.

"There are so many children who need families, and so many people who want to be parents, so it's about educating people that adoption can be your first choice, not your only choice."

The 41-year-old said his wife's death was "so sudden, so unexpected".

"It is still incredibly raw, but what is keeping me going now is to do something positive in Geeta's memory - something I know she would want me to do.

"Geeta was the warmest, kindest and most caring person you could ever meet, she was the light of our lives... I have lost my wife, my partner, my soulmate."