'Hospital staff rang my wife to ask if she wanted to say goodbye' - a paramedic shares his terrifying Covid experience

A frontline paramedic from the East Midlands has shared his terrifying experience of contracting coronavirus, and living with its after effects.

Originally published to the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) website, Terry Thompson's account shows how quickly a healthy person can become ill with Covid-19 - and hammers home why the virus must be taken seriously.

Terry Thompson joined EMAS 13 years ago, and for the last 10 years has worked on the frontline as a paramedic based at Kingsmill.

Despite wearing personal protective equipment and following government guidelines, in April, the healthy 46 year old with no pre-existing medical conditions contracted Covid-19.

He said, “I finished my shift at work on Sunday afternoon, then during the early hours of Monday morning I woke up shivering with a temperature of over 40 degrees. The symptoms came on quickly during the day and hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t eat, drink or get out of bed.”

Terry reported he had Covid-19 symptoms to EMAS and a test was booked for the following day.

On the Wednesday, two days after the start of his symptoms, Terry collapsed in his bathroom and his wife, Rebecca, phoned for an ambulance. He was taken to Kingsmill Hospital where more tests were taken, determining Terry was severely dehydrated. He was given fluids and was then sent home.

By the Friday evening, Terry was struggling to breathe. An ambulance crew attended and liaised with the hospital who advised that he stay at home.

“I don’t remember a great deal about the following two days. My wife had been setting her alarm for every hour through the night to make sure I was breathing. As I dozed off to sleep, I’d have periods where my breathing would stop for 15 to 20 seconds," he said.