Film-maker given 50/50 chance of survival is now focusing on long Covid recovery
A FILM-MAKER says he will never take life for granted again after being given a 50/50 chance in hospital of surviving Covid-19.
Ian Hodges is the co-founder of Coalville’s Gatling Gun Productions and, seven months after first falling ill with just a sore throat and a few aches and pains, is trying to get his old life back.
The once fit and healthy 52-yearold from Coalville had been religiously following the government’s advice before he started to become unwell at the start of 2021.
He lost his taste and smell, his condition quickly deteriorated, and his breathing became a real struggle to the point where he came down with Covid pneumonia and an ambulance was called.
It was when he was transferred to a Covid ward at Glenfield Hospital that the gravity of the situation finally hit him.
“I’d seen Covid wards on TV before this happened and it was frightening then, so you can only imagine how terrifying it was being in it all of a sudden,” he said.
“I’d taken a few Covid tests before I fell ill and was negative so to suddenly be positive and be as ill as I was was hard to get my head around. I had followed the rules and yet I still got it – and got it bad.”
On the maximum amount of oxygen possible to aid his weakening breath, Ian’s condition declined further.
It became so bleak doctors, who were struggling to cope with more admissions around him, gave Ian only a 50/50 chance of survival.
“I was really scared. I was on my own in the ward with no family and friends around and to hear that was the real wake-up call to how bad I was,” he said.
“I knew I wasn’t well, but when they lay it out like that to you clear as day, you panic. I thought I was never going to see my kids again or my partner. I thought that was it.”
Experimental treatment through anti-inflammatory medication was Ian’s only way out and with nothing to lose he took the chance.
Minor progress was the result and by the start of February Ian was out of hospital and back home.
However, this was only the first step in his recovery as the aftereffects of Covid-19 still live with him to this day.
“My taste has never properly come back,” he said. “My smell has never returned either and it’s the little things I miss so much.
“At the football I wish I could smell the freshly cut grass again but no, nothing. They are what you miss a lot, life’s little pleasures.”
Despite those changes, Ian still coaches Coalville Town FC’s under-17s team.
Being out in the fresh air, even in the pouring rain, has helped him mentally recover from Covid-19, even if he physically hasn’t.
“There are days where you just can’t face up to it, but the football has been a great help,” he said.
“I can’t shout from the sidelines like I used to as I’m out of breath too easy and I can barely walk a distance without struggling, but it helps. It gives me a sense of my old self again, even if he isn’t there at the moment.”
That is also true of Ian’s main passion, film-making.
He used his recovery time to finish two film scripts he’d been meaning to complete for some time. It’s one of the few positives he has found from the situation, but it has meant he has kept himself busy and had a focus.
“Without it, I dread to think how
I’d be,” he said. “Of course, I still have Covid and what comes with it, but while I was writing the scripts, or now while I’m back filming and setting up shots and sorting out bits at Gatling Gun, I don’t feel I’m bogged down with it.
“I still struggle but it’s in the background. It’s the relief that’s nice.”
These focuses are what Ian believes has helped aid his progress, however small it is.
“I’m not fully better, but I am better than I was and that I put down to being open about it,” he said.
“I’ve not tried to hide away from it, I’ve had to adjust and get my old life back.
“It’s why I’d say to anyone else with long Covid, you just need something to focus on, learn to live with Covid and remember to live life.
“The support I’d had at the football, at Gatling Gun and from people on Facebook has kept me going. Everyone wants the old Ian back and I’m trying my best to be him again.”
Ian continues to get tested and hopes he can help studies on long Covid to ensure others like him don’t suffer in the long-term.
“Every day I just have to look at myself and see how far I’ve come. If I look back at myself in January where I had little hope, I’ve come a long way. I was unlucky getting it. It’s a virus that can and does affect anyone. I’ve had to adapt, I’ve had to learn with it, but I am better.
“It’s not for me to preach and tell people to get a vaccine or not. This is my story. Long Covid isn’t the end. It’s been difficult, yes, and continues to be, but I will be me again some day. Hopefully. I won’t take life for granted any more.”