'I'm really lucky to be here': The road to recovery after coronavirus

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Lucy Watson

After spending 16 days unconscious on a ventilator because of coronavirus, Steve Robinson says he's "really lucky to be here".

A month in hospital with Covid-19 - leading to double pneumonia and an infection - has left him "not being able to do" the small things he might easily have done before.

A weekly online physiotherapy class is just the start of his recovery.

Steve Robinson contracted Covid-19 complicated double pneumonia and an infection. Credit: ITV News

Physiotherapist Sarah Gotke knows the timeline is a long one, and says recovery "is months not weeks".

"They have very little understanding of why they're so weak because they don't remember the journey they've just been through," she says.

"Then their expectation of how quickly they're going to get better is often unrealistic."

Mr Robinson understands that frustration, said: "My brain is saying you need to be doing more but my brain is saying 'You ain't doing nothing, mate!'

"I find it really frustrating from being so fit beforehand and now not being able to do these things. My body is letting me down."

The group takes part in an online physiotherapy course each week. Credit: ITV News

Each week he meets with others who have been treated for coronavirus - some who were were ventilated and sedated for more than 40 days.

After just five days in intensive care, patients can lose up to 80 per cent of their muscle - making the smallest of movements a struggle.

Via video-call the group share experiences, symptoms, and the lasting impacts of the virus.

Intensive care nurse Lucy Mummery says these can range from "breathlessness, pain, anxiety, post traumatic stress, depression, problems with their memory" and more.

Taking part in classes together is one way for patents to deal with life after coronavirus.

Coronavirus: Everything you need to know