I beat killer virus then it struck down my poor dad
Scotland star’s Covid horror
GASPING for breath, coronavirus tightening its grip on his lungs, former Scotland cricketer Majid Haq did not fear death.
As the 37-year-old lay in hospital, his only concern was that he had passed the illness onto his family.
So he was devastated to find out – on the day he was discharged from the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire – that his 66-year-old father, Raizul, had tested positive for Covid-19.
Now, the cricketer has told for the first time how coronavirus took hold of his family – and how as he was sent home from hospital, his father was left fighting for his life.
Mr Haq said: ‘It’s been a really tough time. Our emotions have been so up and down. I was the first one to have the virus in the family and you do start to blame yourself.
‘I was in hospital for six days and I was given oxygen but the thought of dying didn’t cross my mind. I was more worried that everyone else in the house was OK and that they hadn’t caught it off me as it is easily caught and easily spread.
‘As I left the hospital I heard the news my dad was in intensive care.
He’d had a bit of a cough and a temperature when I went into hospital on March 18 – I was so upset.’
He added: ‘The happiness of me leaving hospital died instantly. He probably caught coronavirus off me, then he got pneumonia as well, and he also had asthma problems.
‘From that point, everyone’s lives have been standing still, waiting for the phone to ring from hospital.
‘Things were not looking very good and our family prayed so much.’
Mr Haq, who played 54 ODI matches and 24 Twenty20 games for Scotland between 2006 and 2015, spoke from his hospital bed last month about his battle with coronavirus. He developed symptoms soon after a shopping and sightseeing trip to London, where he used the crowded Tube.
Within days he had a high temperature, headaches and shortness of breath. He was then admitted to the Royal Alexandra, where he received oxygen treatment in an isolated room for almost a week. He said: ‘The cough was taking my breath away.’ On the day Mr Haq was discharged, he and his family found out his father would have to spend seven to ten days in intensive care at the same hospital. On his eighth day in intensive care, his father contracted an additional bacterial infection.
Soon his major organs began to shut down, and he was placed on a ventilator and loaded with strong painkillers and antibiotics.
Thankfully, last week, Mr Haq received an uplifting call.
It was his father, who had made such a remarkable recovery that he had been moved from intensive care to a high dependency unit – and then onto a regular ward.
The former cricketer said: ‘It was an amazing relief when I heard my dad’s voice for the first time in 13 days. I was really emotional when I heard him speak. Apparently he had told the nurse he wanted to speak to his son. I said, “Dad it’s amazing to hear your voice, I hope you’re OK”.’
He added: ‘I’m thankful for all the prayers my dad had and all the amazing work that NHS staff, doctors, nurses and consultants have done.
‘Dad’s still quite drowsy but day by day he’s getting a lot better. I hope he makes a full recovery.
‘I wouldn’t say he’s out of the woods because you never know with these things, they can change very quickly, but things are looking so much better than they were a week ago.’