Covid patient returns home after battling the virus for six months in hospital

Report by Mary Stanley

A Covid patient from Dorset has finally returned home and is starting to rebuild his life, after spending six months in hospital.

Jamie Pritchard from Portland, who's a healthcare assistant, now needs a lung transplant because of the damage caused by the illness. 

Jamie was admitted to hospital in January with breathing problems, but thought he would only have to spend a few days there before being allowed to go home. But Jamie spent six months battling Covid, with his wife told on a number of occasions, that he was close to death.

Jamie spent months in intensive care and had to be put in an induced coma on a ventilator. He then needed life saving treatment at Southampton General Hospital for a collapsed lung.

He was applauded by colleagues and well wishers as he left Dorset County Hospital earlier this month. 

Jamie now only has a quarter of his lung capacity, and needs oxygen all the time. It means he struggles with simple tasks such as getting dressed in the morning. He's now on the waiting list for a lung transplant.

Jamie and his wife Julie have been together since they were teenagers, and are this year celebrating their 50th birthdays, and their 30th wedding anniversary. They say they are just grateful to still be together and it's the best birthday present they could have.