“Lucky to be alive” says Tony Jacobs
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- Published: Wednesday, 29 April 2020 21:49
- Written by News Editor
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Tony Jacobs, who spent three weeks in intensive care after contracting coronavirus, has thanked the NHS staff who saved his life. Now he says he wants to repay the nurses and doctors who helped him. His family have now set up a fundraising page to help the hospital staff, and are asking people to donate at: www.gofundme.com/f/thank-you-to-the-team-who-looked-after-tony-jacobs
Tony’s family feared the worst when he was placed on a ventilator as his condition deteriorated. He was admitted to hospital after having difficulty breathing. Thanks to the efforts of staff at North Manchester General Hospital, he pulled through and has since been allowed to return to home.
"I feel very lucky to be here," he told Manchester Evening News, "I am so thankful to everyone. Not just the doctors and nurses, but the whole pyramid of people working towards you getting better. There are porters, people analysing your blood tests, thousands of people. Tony continued: "When I was in there I had no idea what was going on. It gives you a lot of hallucinations and fantasies; when I woke up four weeks had gone by."
He started experiencing a slight cough in mid-March, around the same time his wife Lesley was bedbound with a fever. But as she started to recover, he took a turn for the worse and became progressively more ill. During a visit to Prestwich Walk-In Centre, doctors told him he likely had coronavirus and advised that he return home and take paracetamol. However, his condition continued to deteriorate and he soon started struggling to breathe or move up and downstairs.
Concerned, Lesley drove him to North Manchester General Hospital where he was placed on a ventilator to assist his breathing. When Tony was moved to the intensive care unit, his family began fearing the worst. "It was just a waiting game," said his son, Rob, who is also a dentist. "We did not have a clue what he was going through. It was so difficult not being able to go and be next to him."
After two weeks, doctors told the family that Tony was showing signs of improvement. Hopeful that his dad was heading for recovery, Rob, 32, would constantly check WhatsApp to see if he had been online. Finally, on April 14, he noticed some activity. "That was a really nice moment because we knew he was there," said Rob, “We knew he was starting to head in the right direction."
After several more days in hospital, Mr Jacobs was allowed to return home. He received a round of applause from nurses as he departed, while close family members adhered to social distancing measures as they lined the street to clap his return home.
"It was brilliant to see him go home," said Rob. "But it was quite shocking seeing how he was. He left fit and well, working as a dentist and he was a world away from that. It is going to be a slow process, but we are so grateful he has come out the other side."
Now, the keen golfer and Manchester United supporter is on the long road to recovery, and family say they are seeing signs of improvement each day. But they have warned others not to underestimate the impact of COVID-19 on seemingly healthy individuals.
"My dad was a healthy and active 63-year-old, who only took medication for his blood pressure," explained Rob. "It shows that it is not just older, ill people who can get really sick. It has been an extremely unpleasant experience and we would not want any other families to go through this."
Tony’s family say they have been inundated with messages of support from friends and patients. They have now set up a fundraising page to help the hospital staff, and are asking people to donate. The page can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/thank-you-to-the-team-who-looked-after-tony-jacobs.
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