A man who felt like he was drowning while suffering from coronavirus has warned young people not to dismiss the severity of the infection.
Daryl Doblados, 29, woke up with a high temperature, sore throat and aches all over his body.
He later got shivers and a shortness of breath, called 111 and was rushed to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
Despite being relatively young, the Littleport man was floored by the disease, Cambridgeshire Live reported.
He is now in self-isolation having spent eight hours in hospital.
"During my stay, I was very worried about the acute shortness of breath," he said.
"I was always consistently trying to focus on my breathing because once I lost control of the breathing, I felt like I was drowning."
Daryl wants to share his experience so that those who are young and healthy do not think they can't suffer from Covid-19.
He added: "It feels like your lungs are filling up with smoke or liquid and its a real struggle to breathe. I've never felt anything like this.
"I really feel for those who contracted a severe or critical case. It's really the breathing problem that gets to you and I've only got a mild case.
"I'm in seven days of isolation in my bedroom, my two kids and my partner are going to be isolated from me pretty much, my partner will have to isolate for 14 days.
"As for my kids I really can't see them for seven days.
"The takeaway is don't take this for granted, it's really not a joke."
Daryl added how amazing Addenbrooke's staff were in helping him and reassuring him that he would be ok.
He said: "Our NHS staff are definitely one of the best and their dedication to keep the public healthy and safe is amazing."
Daryl added that the consultant gave him some recommendations to help his recovery.
These were to stay hydrated, to rest and to monitor his breathing, and if things escalated to call 111 again.
