Great-grandfather, 87, hospitalised with coronavirus recovers from the deadly virus and returns home
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Edward Sherress, who is known as Ted, was taken to the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, in Cramlington, on Wednesday, March 25, by paramedics.
The 87-year-old had a temperature and was flushed and confused and the day after he was admitted to hospital his loving family were told he had tested positive for covid-19.
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Hide Ad“On the Thursday, at about 7.30pm, I got a call from the doctor to say he had tested positive for Covid-19,” said his devoted daughter Kerry Whitlow.
“I was told they were not going to resuscitate him, put him on a ventilator or take him into intensive care due to his age, fragility and underlying health conditions.
“I was absolutely devastated,” said Kerry, a former nurse and midwife. “Even though with my background I understood because there is a lot fitter, healthier people that have got the virus that should get ventilators.
“Dad has had a great life and other’s haven’t lived their’s yet.
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Hide Ad“But for me as a daughter I thought I’m never going to see him again.
“I remember waving good bye to him in the ambulance and I said ‘Bye Dad, love you’ – I thought is that the last time I’ll see him.
“It was just a waiting game really for us.”
Ted’s family called the hospital every morning and evening, unable to visit because of the restrictions, and were told he remained stable.
His temperature rose again on Sunday, March 29, and the family feared the worst.
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Hide AdTed, who has five great-grandchildren, has a series of underlying health conditions including a brain tumour, type 2 diabetes, atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) and kidney problems.
But on Friday, April 3, his family received the news that Ted, a former para-trooper and docker, had recovered and was well enough to come home.
Ted is now back home, in Swarland, with his wife of 63 years Joyce, 83.
“My daughter, Beth, said she wanted to tell the world about this because I really didn’t think he was going to recover,” said Kerry, 57.
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Hide Ad“There will be so many people who are so scared of this virus and I want to give these people a bit of hope that people can get better.”
While Ted was in hospital, the rest of his family – including wife Joyce, Kerry and her husband Alan and 25-year-old son Aston - began showing symptoms of Covid-19.
“I had it for eight to nine days, it absolutely wiped me out. My son only have symptoms for maybe half a day and he seemed to bounce back really quickly, my husband was in bed for two days and thankfully my mum only had a cough,” said Kerry.
“It’s an invisible enemy, you can’t see it, you don’t know where it is.
“We had no idea where we picked it up from.
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Hide Ad“I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay indoors.”