Home at last! Scarborough man finally leaves hospital after six month battle with coronavirus

Scarborough Hospital’s first coronavirus survivor has finally returned home, after enduring weeks of gruelling physiotherapy at a private hospital in York.
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Andy Williams, 57, was admitted to Scarborough Hospital on April 13 and spent three weeks in a medically induced coma.

His kidneys failed and while in ICU he also suffered a stroke. He lost four stones in weight and transferred to Woodlands private hospital in York on June 11.

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Andy has spoken to The Scarborough News about his battle to recover from coronavirus and his plans for the future.

Andy (centre) with daughter Jess and son SamAndy (centre) with daughter Jess and son Sam
Andy (centre) with daughter Jess and son Sam

He said: “I’m doing alright. It’s been a very frustrating four months since I went to York.

“I spent the first couple of weeks in a sort of isolation and I was still bed-bound. I couldn’t do anything. I needed help getting washed and dressed.

“I was stuck in a room. It wasn’t a big room. Sometimes I really wondered if I was going to get out of there. It was quite frightening.

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“I started by getting off the bed and into the wheelchair. That was very hard.

The emotional reunionThe emotional reunion
The emotional reunion

“I felt helpless being wheeled around by people. I started to think I would never get out of it.

“Then the physios said it was time to get off bed and get well again.

“I was given a four-wheeled walker to practise in the corridor and after a couple of weeks I was allowed outside.”

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Andy would take a walk along the nearby Hull Road with his physio, Emma, to get some fresh air. Initially he would walk just halfway, but he gradually built up to walk further. He also needed physiotherapy for his hands.

Andy at Scarborough HospitalAndy at Scarborough Hospital
Andy at Scarborough Hospital

Andy quickly progressed from using the wheeled walker to a clumpy walking stick and then a normal one. He said: “On July 6 I walked down the corridor with it. By July 10 I was taking walks outside the hospital with Kirsty the occupational therapist.

“Then they started to integrate me back into society with trips to Monks Cross and the like.”

One of the hardest things Andy found about being in the hospital was the lack of visiting time. He said: “They only allowed visitors one patient at a time and even then it was only for 30 minutes.

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“I would sit on one side of a sliding door with my daughter Jess on the other.

Andy before he contracted coronavirusAndy before he contracted coronavirus
Andy before he contracted coronavirus

“Jess has been amazing, I can’t believe how she has coped with it all.

“Initially she phoned every day. Then during the six-week summer holiday she visited twice a week.

“We went to Monks Cross and the Designer Outlet integrating me back into real life. I just had to get out and about and keep on with that.”

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Andy’s son Sam lives in Germany and wasn’t able to return until early August to see his father. The separation was hard for both of them.

He said: “Sam was isolated, just waiting for the phone to ring. The reunion, when it happened, was a bit emotional.”

Andy has been eager to praise those who helped him with his recovery. “The staff were brilliant. It was bad for them. They could earn more money elsewhere, but they don’t do it for the money, one of the health care workers said to me: ‘My reward is seeing you leave through those doors for the last time.’”

Andy and Sam prior to the pandemicAndy and Sam prior to the pandemic
Andy and Sam prior to the pandemic

As Andy’s health improved, his funding for the private hospital began to run short. He said there was only enough funding to cover another six weeks and when York was raised to Tier 2 coronavirus restrictions, he decided it was time to come home.

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He still has a weakness in his right shoulder, a result of the way he was lying in intensive care, but that will heal with time, and his short term memory isn’t as good as it once was, but he is well on the road to recovery.

Andy said: “The fatigue is horrendous. You do something and it hits you and you think ‘I’ve just got to sit down.’

“It’s the simple things you can’t do. You’ve got to switch your head on and do it in little bits.

“I can’t believe I’m home. I have to give myself a talking to that I don’t have to go back.

“It’s been a reality check. This thing has taught me a lot.

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“My friends have kept me going with typical banter - the kind of stuff you couldn’t ever publish!

“Overall I’ve been very lucky.

“Once I’m fit enough I’m going to look after myself differently. I’m going to do a lot more travelling. My dad was in the Navy as a lad. I’m going to go see the places that he visited.

“My cousin works for a big airline and he is going to sort me a trip out, but it’s going to be some time before I can go.

“I’ve got friends in Thailand and I’d love to go to Bangkok. I also have friends in New Zealand.

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“I’d like to go to Australia. I would love to watch the cricket in Sydney, although I’m not sure who I’d take.

“We only get one go at this life, but for some reason I got two. I want people to realise what this thing does.”