'Coronavirus is not game over': Father-of-two who recovered from intensive care has defiant message

A recovered coronavirus patient has paid tribute to the medical staff who cared for him and said he wants people to know “they can survive this”.Andrew Hodge, a father-of-two, spent six days in intensive care in an induced coma.

The 54-year-old electrical engineer was discharged on March 27 and is now recovering at home in Laleham, near Staines.

The Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust said Mr Hodge wanted people to know that being ventilated for Covid-19 “is not game over”.

He said: “I don’t want to dilute the seriousness of it, but I want people to realise they can survive this.

“There is so much negative communication about how many people have died, as opposed to how many have survived.”

He praised the treatment and care he received during 10 days at St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, describing the team there as “phenomenal and attentive”.

Mr Hodge told ITV News he was brought round from his coma daily to make sure he "knew who I was and where I was and could squeeze somebody's finger."

Mr Hodge is just a few months older than Boris Johnson who was admitted to ICU on Monday evening. Credit: PA

During one these daily checks by NHS staff, Mr Hodge remembers a member of the ICU team looking him "straight in the eye" and saying, "This is what we do, do not worry."

But he said it was not just the ICU team who were incredible.

Mr Hodge told ITV News the recovery team were "selfless" and helped me through the lonely road to recovery.

"When I started to understand the gravity, they were there to support me," he said. "Because I was on my own, they then took on the role of being closer to me and ensuring I was OK."

Mr Hodge, husband to Dawn and father to Isabella, 17, and Genevieve, 11, also paid tribute to one nurse on Aspen ward at the hospital who simply held his hand for a while, the trust said.

The team at St Peter’s are “delighted” to see Mr Hodge recovering so well back at home, and wish him all the best, the trust added.

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