Popular doc on the mend

Tom shares experience of COVID

A Perthshire doctor who contracted COVID-19 has thanked the wave of supportive messages he has received as he recovers at home.

Dr Tom Fardon, a respiratory consultant at Ninewells Hospital, took to Facebook two weeks ago to announce he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Carse of Gowrie-based doctor has gathered a substantial following on Facebook since the virus hit Scotland as he seeks to answer questions about the deadly pathogen.

Also a reader at Dundee University, Dr Fardon has given detailed answers to questions about testing, social distancing and PPE amongst others, as well as sharing numerous graphs.

Posting on his Facebook page last week he said: “First thing is to thank everyone who has contacted me in the last week to wish me a speedy recovery.

“The support I’ve received has been overwhelming - from friends and colleagues I’ve known a long time, to people who have just reached out having heard that I’ve been unwell.

“Thank you to everyone.

“I’ve had a mild course of COVID, being able to isolate at home, not needing to go to hospital.

“But it’s been a drawn out infection, causing a lot of symptoms, particularly headache and lethargy that have persisted into this second week.

“Isolation when symptomatic is so important.

“My only aim for the last eight days has been to minimise the risk of transmitting COVID to anyone else: I wouldn’t want anyone else to have it.

“In the week since I became unwell I’ve been able to follow some of the emerging new COVID issues, and colleagues have been sharing papers, studies, and evidence to keep me up to speed, for which I’m grateful.

“The immunology of COVID infection continues to be particularly interesting, but very complex.

“I’m just starting to get a handle on the difficulties in creating vaccines, which will be a key part of how we come out of 2020.

“The curves are flattening around Scotland; evidence I think that some of the measures we’ve all taken have had some effect on disease spread.

“But with a flattened curve comes a longer tail, and the realisation that our lives will be very different, for a while to come yet.

“There remain a lot of unanswered questions, including how we calculate the RO characteristic, which will define a lot of the exit strategies.

“Thanks again to everyone who has been asking after me, it’s really appreciated.

“If you sent us food - you’re amazing. If you’re working in any key role - you’re a legend.”