37-year-old Aaron urges caution as he beats Covid-19 after seven weeks in hospital
A 37-year-old patient has reiterated the danger Covid-19 presents after spending almost two months in hospital fighting for his life after contracting the virus.
Aaron Shaw was fit and well with no underlying health concerns, but began feeling unwell in early March at around the same time as his wife. It wasn’t until they both took a Covid-19 test that they realised they had caught the virus.
Aaron said: “After the test came back positive, we began to self-isolate. My wife was fine and just had symptoms of a cold, but there were signs I had Covid such as a real loss in appetite and the thought of food just made me feel unwell, but my symptoms varied from day to day.
“I then started to go downhill rapidly and eventually I developed a non-stop cough and was having difficulty with my breathing, so we called 111 and they sent an ambulance for me.”
Aaron was admitted to Ward 208 on 15 March, but his condition deteriorated further and he was then admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on 4 April.
Aaron explained: “I wasn’t getting any better, so I agreed to be put under anaesthesia to see if that would help me.”
Staff in ICU then took the decision to transfer Aaron to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester where he was to be placed on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine in their intensive care unit.
ECMO is a type of therapy that takes blood from the patient’s body, removes carbon dioxide and oxygenates the blood before pumping it back around the body, taking over the roles the heart and lungs. This allows the organs time to rest, heal and recover and is used when usual treatments are not working.
Gradually over the course of around two weeks, Aaron’s condition began to improve after what he described as a “terrifying” ordeal:
“The last thing I could remember was agreeing to be anaesthetised in Derby and then waking up somewhere different hooked up to lots of different machines.
“Thankfully, the ECMO worked and my condition improved and I was later transferred back to ICU at Royal Derby where I spent about another week as the team monitored me. Then on 16 April I was transferred onto Ward 403 to continue with my recovery.”
The severity of Aaron’s fight against Covid-19 is something that staff at both Royal Derby and Glenfield hospitals have little explanation for, and it has reemphasised to Aaron the seriousness of the virus and the pandemic as a whole.
He explained: “This virus doesn’t just affect old or sick people, it really is just a roll of a dice as to how it affects you. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I’m only 37-years-old and I’ve got no underlying health conditions. It hit me so hard out of nowhere, and nobody is quite sure why.”
After almost three further weeks of recovery on the ward, Aaron was declared fit for discharge on 5 May and was allowed to continue his recovery at home with his family.
Aaron said: “I know this is the beginning of a long road to recovery for me, but the biggest thing for me is going home and being able to see my wife and six-year-old daughter again.
“One of the hardest things is not being able to see your friends and family while you’re in hospital. It can really get to you mentally and be very difficult as I didn’t know how long it was going to be before I could see my family again. It’s like an extra layer of cruelty.”
As he left the ward, Aaron was giving a standing ovation by those who have cared for him, and he had this to say to thank them:
“The care I’ve received from the staff here and throughout my time fighting this virus has been amazing. I’d like to say thank you for saving my life and for giving me more time to spend with my wife and little girl.”