"My life can't end like this." A doctor who nearly died from Covid-19 in his own hospital returns to work
By ITV Central Producer, Arun Lal
A frontline trauma doctor from Shrewsbury, who almost died in his own hospital after contracting coronavirus, says he thought he would die alone.
Dr Hamza Ansari fell ill in April and was placed in the High Dependency Unit - a unit between the general ward and intensive care.
He said they were his 'darkest moments' and thought the story of his life couldn't 'end like this, dying by myself, alone, in a hospital with my family half a world apart.'
His wife, Michelle and one-year-old daughter, Mia, are currently stranded abroad. It's after they visited family in Canada in February.
Hamza headed back to Shropshire due to work commitments but then the coronavirus pandemic broke out across the globe.
Michelle and Mia were unable to get a flight back to the UK and have been in North America ever since.
The mum-of-one said she felt helpless and feared the worst, when Hamza contracted the virus whilst working on the frontline at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
The only way she could keep in contact with her husband was via text, so she sent him pictures and videos of their daughter, to give him strength to fight the virus.
After nine days and a negative test, Hamza was discharged but instead of going home to an empty flat, his colleague Colonel Carl Meyers, an orthopaedic surgeon, offered him a place to stay.
Hamza is now back at work. He says he is still feeling the after effects of coronavirus, including shortness of breathe.
He added that, during the weeks after he left hospital, he was suffering with insomnia and PTSD, and he could sometimes still feel the mask on his face and the tube that were inside him.
His colleagues at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital are still lending their support to Hamza, whether that be offering to help him on a shift or even cook him some food.
He believes the hardship they have all gone through during these past four months have strengthened their bond, brought them closer together and made them more of a family.
But what Hamza is really hoping for is finally reunite with his real family in a few days time.
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