Social worker thanks ‘fantastic’ staff for saving his life
Social worker Delbert Mani [pictured left], writes about his experience contracting Covid-19 and thanks the staff at Newham Hospital who cared for him.
My name is Delbert Mani and I work as a social worker. I live in Newham with my wife of 20 years, who works as a nurse at Newham Hospital, and two children.
High fever and severe muscle pain
On Friday 21st of March, my 14-year-old son came down with a fever in the night. The next morning, I noticed I too had developed a fever. We both took paracetamol, and luckily my son’s fever subsided quickly. However, I continued to maintain a high fever and was struck by severe muscle pain. For the next few days, I was very weak with a productive cough. I couldn’t move very easily so I stayed in bed and isolated all day. I continued taking paracetamol every four hours, and hoped what I had was just a normal flu and not Covid-19.
After three days my the pain in my body subsided, but I was still very lethargic and continued to have a productive cough. On day four, I started to feel a strange and uncomfortable heaviness in my chest, especially after coughing. My breathing become heavy and I was even struggling to complete a full sentence. By this time, my wife also started to have minor symptoms: a fever and a headache. Almost a week later, my symptoms had gotten worse. In fact, I was frightened to fall asleep, because of how much I was struggling to breath. On the morning of Friday 27 March, my wife rang 111 and then 999. However, because so many people were falling ill we were worried about the wait time for an ambulance. After waiting several hours we drove straight to A&E.
The A&E and CCU staff were fantastic
The A&E staff were fantastic and admitted me straight away. My oxygen saturation was very low and a chest x-ray showed I had Covid-19. The days that followed were an emotional and physical roller coaster ride…
For the first two days following admission, things were not going well for me as my breathing continued to get worse. I had severe pain in my back, making it almost impossible for me to sleep. Almost all the patients in the ward were struggling with Covid-19 symptoms. I felt anxious and was scared to be alone. I was started on non-invasive ventilation (breathing support via an oxygen mask) and then moved to CCU, where I thankfully showed significant improvement. I stayed at Newham Hospital for a total of 14 days. These 14 days were the most difficult time in my life for me and my family. At times my recovery was in doubt and to stop the spread of the virus my wife and children could not visit me at hospital, this was really hard. However, I owe so much to everyone who supported me at Newham Hospital from A&E, ITU and CCU. I have seen God’s hand, and feel lucky that I had special people to support me at the most difficult time in my life.
The staff all stood by me to ensure that I got the best available treatment. I really want to name each of them individually, but the list is too long and I am frightened that I may miss some names. I am humbled and grateful to all the nurses, doctors and the key workers who supported me to recover from this ordeal. I would really take this opportunity to thank the dedicated staff in CCU, without whom, I believe, things would have taken a different turn. The staff in CCU were really friendly, supportive and compassionate with the most professionalism. I’d also like to say a very special thanks to the wonderful endocrine team because on admission my diabetes was all over the place. I am grateful to my wife, who had the courage to pull through this difficult time along with my two children. I'd also like to show my appreciation to all my family, friends and neighbours who rallied to support my wife and children providing help with shopping, cooking meals and keeping us in their prayers.
On the road to recovery
I feel very lucky to have recovered from the infection. I was discharged back at home on the 13 of April. The road to recovery has been slow. I realised that I had lost 10kg in 14 days which was of a real shock to me. I still feel mentally drained, and the psychological impact of having Covid-19 stayed with me for a while as I had anxiety attacks for the first few days I was home. I have been home for over a month and things are getting much better. I am so glad that I have been united with my wonderful family and am able to enjoy the simple things in life, which we have always taken for granted.
My advice to anyone experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, especially difficult breathing is to seek medical attention at the earliest opportunity. I remember that my saturation level and breathing improved while I was lying in prone position, on my front, in CCU. I continued this practice after I was discharge home along with deep breathing exercises, which have really helped me.
Two weeks ago I celebrated my 50th birthday. I thank God, and the staff at Newham Hospital that I was able to spend it at home with my family.