When dementia sufferer Barry Nixon, 80, was diagnosed with Covid-19 after a history of bad chest infections, his family bluntly said: “We never thought he’d survive.”
But the jolly former Bury St Edmunds postman is today back singing and dancing at his care home – after West Suffolk Hospital nurses “completely dedicated themselves” to helping him survive, against all odds.
MORE: Sign up for all the latest coronavirus news in Suffolk here
The happy-go-lucky great-grandfather of 20 had already surprised everyone by surviving a series of bad chest infections last year, with daughter Amanda Sadler saying: “We nearly lost him.”
So when carers at Bury St Edmunds’ Cornwallis Court care home phoned relatives five weeks ago to say he was having more chest problems, Amanda said: “We thought the worst.”
After his condition deteriorated further one night, he was taken into West Suffolk Hospital.
When a positive Covid-19 test result came back a few days later, Amanda said: “We thought he was going to die. We thought that was it.”
Yet while the postie of 26 years can often be seen laughing and joking even while he is doing kitchen chores, his family say that, beneath it all: “He’s a massive fighter.”
And so it proved when, with the love and care of hospital nurses, his condition gradually improved to the point where began breathing without additional oxygen – and could even be seen walking around the ward, joyfully singing to himself.
MORE: Supergran, 94, beats coronavirus - and thanks ‘brilliant’ NHS nurses
“Gradually, he got better and better,” said Amanda.
The former merchant navy waiter, who used to help run Bury St Edmunds’ Market Tavern pub, is now back at Cornwallis Court – where his family say: “He’s doing the washing up, laughing and joking.”
Nurses ‘gave us hope’
Amanda, herself a carer, said: “He’d been really ill last year, on and off, with lots of chest infections.
“When he went into hospital so suddenly, it was like we could’ve been run over by a bus. We were devastated.
“He has always been our rock. He is just an amazing dad and grandad.”
However, she said: “I knew in my heart he was being looked after.
She said West Suffolk Hospital’s nurses were “amazing the whole time”, adding: “They just gave us hope.
“They loved him, looked after him and fed him when he couldn’t feed himself.
“They just completely dedicated themselves to him and made him better.”
MORE: Join our Facebook group for updates on coronavirus
In a thank you message to the hospital afterwards, Amanda added: “Words will never be enough to thank you for looking after our dad and granddad.
“He is a man that, by all accounts, should not have beaten Covid-19, but with the care of your fantastic team, he has smashed it.”
She also thanked staff at Cornwallis Court for their care of her father.
Covid-19 is ‘indiscriminate’
Amanda said the fact her father had contracted the disease, despite being relatively isolated, showed how dangerous and prevalent Covid-19 is.
“I honestly think that, until it directly affects you, you’re quite removed from it - even though you see it on the news,” said Amanda, who also suffered from coronavirus but made a full recovery after rest at home.
“It feels like everyone is in denial about how easily it’s transmitted.
“You see it on television and you don’t think it’s going to affect you, but then it does. It’s flying about the place.
“It’s indiscriminate. It’s hitting everyone but everyone has different symptoms. If you’re vulnerable in any sort of way, it gets in there.
“If it was an enemy with a gun, you’d be hiding in your homes.”
‘Try not to think the worst straight away’
Yet while she stressed no-one should ever be complacent about the risks of coronavirus, she believes her father’s survival shows there is hope for even the most vulnerable with the illness.
“Please don’t despair straight away that this is the end,” she said.
“Our NHS is brilliant, so try not to think the worst straight away.
“We all thought dad was going to die, but he’s back to how he was.
“It’s a miracle he’s all right, but it’s given everyone such a boost, because they know there’s hope.”
On its Twitter feed, the West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust thanked Barry’s family for the “amazing feedback”, adding: “We’re so glad to hear Barry is back at home.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here