Dad’s 9- month battle clinging on to life
A COVID- 19 patient admitted to hospital at the start of the pandemic is still fighting for life in one of the longest cases of the illness in the UK.
Jason Kelk, 49, has been on a ventilator in intensive care for nine months.
His wife Sue, 63, paid tribute to her husband “strength of character” as he continues to cling on to life.
Doctors have revealed Jason is one of up to seven patients in the UK in the same position.
He was admitted on March 31, around the same time as Derek Draper, the husband of TV presenter Kate Garraway, who is understood to be the country’s longest- fighting Covid patient. Jason, who works in IT at a primary school, had certain risk factors for severe Covid- 19, as a Type 2 diabetic and with mild asthma, but when he first fell ill no one suspected the virus.
But three days later he was moved to intensive care where he has remained since.
Sue, from Leeds, said: “It’s nothing short of miraculous that Jason is still here. It just shows his strength of character and his will to live.
“It shows his will to come home to me and his family.”
Having initially struggled with a continuous cough Jason was prescribed antibiotics after becoming breathless. But his condition deteriorated and an ambulance was called. Sue said: “The paramedics found his oxygen saturation was lower than they would like and they took him to hospital but said he would probably be sent home soon.
“His cough wasn’t a new cough and he didn’t have fever so he didn’t really have any of the symptoms. We didn’t think of Covid.
“Even when the Covid swab came back positive the following night I still thought he’d be coming home.”
Sue, a former nurse, said the virus has severely damaged Jason’s lungs and attempts to remove his ventilator have been unsuccessful. Jason’s kidneys have also been seriously affected and he is on a constant kidney filter and has developed suspected diabetic gastroparesis, affecting his stomach and has to be fed intravenously.
Mum- of- five Sue remains in awe of how Jason has battled. She said: “The fact he has fought through all of it is absolutely incredible. I’m so proud of him.”
Sue has struggled to see him regularly because of the lockdown, adding: “I just wish I had hugged him more. Not before he went into the ambulance but throughout our relationship. Because now I can’t and that’s really hard.”