Coronavirus patient virtually thanks medics who saved his life

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Paul Davies

A coronavirus patient who recovered from the disease has been given the chance to thank the medics who saved his life.

Ian Jameson was the first patient at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother hospital in Kent to test positive for Covid-19.

He told ITV News how his kidneys began to fail and he required a blood transfusion before staff at the hospital were forced to put him in a medically induced coma - he remained in hospital for five weeks.

Having recovered from the virus, Mr Jameson has now had the chance to meet the medics who helped him survive - thanking them over a video call.

Deirdre McFarlane and Tracy Lewis were some of the nurses who cared for Mr Jameson while he was in intensive care.

Seeing them both for first time since his release from hospital, Mr Jameson said: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart".

Despite the difficulty of the ordeal, Mr Jameson said it has changed his outlook on life.

"I think when you're in hospital you're in survival mode so you just sort of... every day is a new day. And the staff were absolutely amazing, I can't praise them enough," he said.

"It's a weird feeling being in hospital because I don't think you realise how ill you are.

"It's not as if you've had your arm cut off - you know you can see that - but I couldn't see anything inside."

His wife Gail met the nurses too, and told them via video call her husband "wouldn't be sat here" without their help.

Mrs James said: "It is really good to be home, we've been waiting for this day… we didn’t know if this day would come."

Looking back on the speed of her husband's deterioration from the virus she said:

"You were only in hospital an hour, and then they phoned up to say 'sorry we've got to put your husband in a coma, he's got to go to sleep for a couple of weeks'".

The couple now plan to renew their vows once the pandemic has passed and want Ms McFarlane and Ms Lewis to be guests at the ceremony.

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