The message was always ‘hope for best but prepare for worst': Covid sufferer speaks after 10 weeks in hospital
“The message [to my family] was always constantly along the lines of ‘hope for the best but prepare for the worst’ because I was that ill.”
Before Ian Hawkins was struck down with coronavirus following a trip to the Cheltenham Festival last March, he was a fit and healthy 57 year old who enjoyed long walks and sports.
But just days after the horse racing event, he was rushed into Walsall Manor Hospital fighting for his life and unable to see his worried loved ones for weeks.
Despite his recovery, Mr Hawkins – who runs two domestic appliance shops in Aldridge and Lichfield – said he is still dealing with the after effects of the virus months later.
He decided to share his story to press home the message to doubters that Covid is real and how it was down to the dedication of NHS staff that saved his life.
Speaking at Walsall’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board, Mr Hawkins also urged people not to be “foolish” by rejecting the vaccination when it is offered to them.
He had been part of a minibus party that had gone to the popular annual festival before becoming breathless a couple of days later. Further issues such as losing his taste and a lack of appetite followed – before he was admitted into hospital on March 29.
Mr Hawkins said: “I was induced into a coma for about three and a half weeks and I stayed on ventilator for six and a half weeks.
“After I came off and I was declared Covid free, I then moved to a rehabilitation ward where I was there for another three and a half weeks. My stay at Walsall Manor was around 10 and a half weeks.
“I hadn’t realised how ill I was or how the treatment would unfold. I had a conversation with one of the anaesthetists as I was waiting to be put under and I was under the impression the treatment would take two or three days and I would be on my way home. But I woke up three and a half weeks later.
“My family were distraught. As much as the hospital tried to communicate, because there was no visiting my wife would ring two to three times a day for updates.
“Because I suffered with so many other ailments as well as Covid or as a result of it, it was like a rollercoaster.
“The phone call in the morning would be ‘there’s slight improvement’ but the phone call in the evening would be ‘he’s taken a turn for the worse’.
“The message was always constantly along the lines of ‘hope for the best but prepare for the worst’ because I was that ill.
“It was some weeks before they finally got to see me. I was still on a ventilator when I finally got to see my family and it was through a window of the hospital. They weren’t allowed to come in.”
Multiple organ failure
He was diagnosed with double Covid pneumonia, sepsis, multiple organ failure which I ended up on dialysis and then two bouts of klebsiella as well.
The condition he found himself came as a shock to Mr Hawkins as he had no underlying health conditions and thought he would fight it off quickly.
He said: “There was another gentleman on the minibus I travelled on. He had Covid as well, but nowhere near as severe as mine. It was chalk and cheese. I was quite critically ill and he stayed at home.
“He would have been a typical example of what I thought I would be which demonstrates how random the virus can be in how it affects different people.”
Mr Hawkins said the medics and hospital staff who helped save his life and treated him with kindness had touched his heart.
As well as treating him, nurses would position him in front of a window so his family could see him and later wheel his bed out to the car park when he was finally able to have contact with them.
They also furnished him with his favourite treats including pork pies, bananas and the odd bar of chocolate, helping him build back up the three and a half stone in weight he had lost.
He said: “The NHS staff were absolutely brilliant. Certainly saved my life. The skill, dedication and commitment of everybody who was at the hospital was just fantastic.
'Covid is very real and very dangerous'
“I know I slept through the worst part but when I was awake I could see how caring and considerate everyone was. I didn’t ask for that. That was out of the kindness of their own hearts.”
After coming out of hospital, Mr Hawkins set up a Just Giving page which raised £10,000 towards creating a garden near ICU where well enough patients can be wheeled out to meet with loved ones.
His recovery started after leaving ICU where he would receive short daily physio sessions to build his muscles back up and help him walk without using a frame again or doing things he took for granted like being able to shave himself.
Long Covid means he still gets fatigue and aches while parts of his body such as his left foot have yet to recover their nerve sense.
He is back walking but finding it is tougher than before and a full recovery is expected to take up to 18 months.
And Mr Hawkins warned people to continue to follow guidelines, stay safe and protect others. When asked to describe people rejecting the vaccine, he said they were “foolish”.
He added: “Covid is very real and very dangerous. If the vaccine protects yourself it inevitably protects everyone else.
"Trust in the science, trust in the medication and trust in the NHS. I was in their hands and they looked after me.”
