‘I’ll never forget those two hours as patient near me died,’ says virus survivor
Harrowing description of a man losing his fight against the disease is one of many losses, as UK toll jumps
A CORONAVIRUS survivor has described the harrowing two hours a fellow patient cried out for his family before he died alone. The description by Craig Farley-jones, 43, of the lonely final moments that so many are now facing came as the UK death toll jumped by 786 in just 24 hours, the biggest daily increase so far.
Victims in England were aged between 23 and 102, and 29 of them had no known underlying health conditions. It takes the overall toll to 6,159.
Mr Farley-jones spent six days battling the virus before being discharged from Tameside General Hospital in Greater Manchester on Sunday.
He said the patient opposite him, aged in his late 60s, had initially been relaxed and talkative but deteriorated quickly.
“He was struggling to breathe and starting to panic,” he said.
“Something had changed – his stats went off the scale and it was past the point of return for him.
“His children were at least able to come in in masks and gowns and say their goodbyes, but he still hung on for another few hours after that. I will never forget those next two hours for as long as I live. It had me in tears, it was so hard to listen to. I lay there listening to his breathing turning into a
death rattle. He had gone.” Among victims named yesterday were Jitendra Rathod, an “incredibly dedicated” heart surgeon.
Dr Rathod, 58, died on Monday at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, where he worked as an associate specialist in cardiothoracic surgery.
The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board paid tribute to the father of two, who had worked in the department since the mid-nineties.
“He was a very compassionate and a wonderful human being,” it said.
Prof Mohamed Sami Shousha, 79, died in London after contracting the virus around two weeks ago.
The father of two had been working at Charing Cross Hospital since 1978, where he managed the breast histopathology service.
Another victim, Anton Sebastianpillai, a doctor who specialised in treating the elderly, died after testing positive on Sunday, it was announced yesterday. The consultant geriatrician, who had a long association with Kingston Hospital in south-west London, finished his last shift on March 20.
A woman thought to have contracted coronavirus died during childbirth at the Whittington Hospital, north London, although her death is thought unlikely to have been caused by the virus. The case has been referred to the coroner.
Meanwhile, the widow and the mother of two London bus drivers who have died warned their loved ones were not given adequate protection.
Bishara Maye said her husband, Nadir Nur, 48, and his colleagues “had no PPE whatsoever”, while Anne Nyack, whose son Emeka, 36, has died, said he had raised similar concerns.