A coronavirus survivor who was treated at the intensive care unit where Boris Johnson is staying has described his harrowing ordeal.
Davey Hunt spent 10 days at St Thomas’ Hospital in London with Covid-19.
As well as struggling with his own condition, he said that witnessing other people die was traumatic.
The harrowing account comes as the Prime Minister remains under constant observation at St Thomas’, where his fever is said to have dipped.
Mr Hunt told today how the disease first started out with what felt like a cold, but it soon made him feel like he was ‘being hit by a train’.
Mr Hunt was placed in an induced coma and feared he was going to die as the devastating illness took its toll.
What started out as cold symptoms soon had Davey Hunt feeling like he’d been ‘hit by a train’ he told followers on his Facebook page
Davey Hunt said he spent two days in an induced coma so his body could fight off the coronavirus infection. He would spend a total of 10 days at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, where Boris Johnson is now being treated
He explained: ‘I had a temperature of 41C, sweats, fever, cough, insane headache, aches all over and eventually couldn’t breathe so called 999 and was immediately placed in an induced coma for two days which allowed my whole body to fight the disease.’
Mr Hunt says he initially feared he would be in a coma for 10 days and ‘called the family to essentially say my goodbyes’.
He added: ‘I honestly thought I was going to die. I gave my brother my will and off I went to sleep. Once I awoke it was explained that I was in a very serious condition but responding well to treatment. I spent another two days in ICU and on a ventilator so still couldn’t talk.
St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where Boris Johnson was moved to the intensive care ward on Monday evening. Downing Street said yesterday he had received oxygen treatment and had not developed pneumonia
‘Eventually, that was removed along with my feeding tube, catheter and about 10 other tubes/wires and I was able to breathe on my own.
‘I witnessed lots of things that I don’t ever want to see again. The sight of people dying in front of you is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen. I am in awe of the NHS and the dedication of all of them.
‘Yes, at times, it was utter chaos but without all of them I really wouldn’t be here I don’t think. I am now at home resting praying for those who are in hospital, who can’t see their loved ones during this difficult time. I’m a lucky man and I don’t take that for granted.’
Davey Hunt is now recovering at home after overcoming the worst of Covid-19, but he has warned others to stay indoors to stop the coronavirus spreading
Mr Hunt returned home on April 4, two days before Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to the same hospital’s ICU.
Today Mr Johnson’s fever is said to have dipped in a positive sign.
But there are fears that even the best outcome from his coronavirus struggle will see him out of action for weeks, with experts warning he could need a ‘phased return’ to work.
There are also questions about the PM’s care while he was in isolation, amid suggestions he was not physically monitored and only consulted a doctor by video link.
There are claims that social distancing rules were being flouted in Downing Street as the crisis developed, with meetings in cramped rooms and people coughing freely.
Tory MPs are calling for a review of the premier’s medical arrangements, saying the lack of protection has been ‘exposed’ by the latest crisis.
Yesterday two other coronavirus survivors shared their experiences with the fatal virus that has claimed thousands of lives.
Matt Dockray, 39, from Buckinghamshire, described the illness as ‘the most horrible experience you will go through,’ when he appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday.
The father-of-one said: ‘It’s a horrible, horrible experience. You’re very lonely. You don’t have any friends or family there so you don’t have that emotional, personal support you rely on in your hardest times.’
NHS worker, 44, feared she would die when ‘excruciatingly painful’ coronavirus symptoms left her vomiting and gasping for breath
An NHS worker left gasping for breath and in excruciating pain by coronavirus has told of her ordeal in a warning to those ignoring lockdown rules.
Karen McCabe, from Edinburgh, said she first came down with symptoms while self-isolating with her children, and initially tried to battle the illness with paracetamol.
But within days she was vomiting and struggling to breathe and so was admitted to hospital, according to the Daily Record .
The 44-year-old spoke of begging consultants for help as she thought she was going to die, with her temperature rapidly fluctuating between a burning sensation and cold shivers.
‘It was like someone was sitting down hard on my chest every time I tried to inhale or exhale, which was excruciatingly painful,’ she told the Record.
Karen McCabe, pictured left in good health, has revealed how suffering from coronavirus in hospital, pictured right, left her gasping for breath and in excruciating pain
The mother also suffers from a neuromuscular disease, for which she takes steroids, and type one diabetes which ‘goes completely out of control and could kill me’ whenever she is unwell.
She also endured aches and lost her sense of smell and taste, which have recently been confirmed as other tell-tale symptoms of Covid-19.
Karen was then taken to intensive care and placed on a ventilator after her condition deteriorated.
She is now back on the ward and issued a firm warning on social media to those still flouting lockdown rules by meeting in public places.
She wrote: ‘What do people not understand, or is it just sheer arrogance and defiance?!
‘Whilst you may be smugly thinking it won’t happen to me – and you may be right – you could be asymptomatic and pass it in to someone like me, cancer patients or elderly people with underlying health conditions.
‘You could kill them. Come on folks let’s get a grip! We’re still at the low end of the trajectory, over the next few weeks the numbers are anticipated to ramp up.
The 44-year-old was on a ventilator in intensive care at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital, pictured
‘Will people catch it again? Maybe? Will these same people survive next time? Maybe….
‘Let’s kick this horrific virus in to touch, let our clever researchers develop a vaccine.
‘Our NHS, many of them my colleagues, are on their knees. Many of them have caught it helping people like me despite religiously wearing [personal protective equipment] and hand washing until their skin cracks.
‘Not forgetting all of the other essential workers having to put themselves at further risk to serve you before going home to their families possibly now having Covid-19.
‘Soon, more of them will go off, so in the event that you do contract it, who’s going to help you get better and home to your family?’
In Scotland, 220 people have died from the virus after nearly 4,000 confirmed cases.
