A Leeds man, who is thought to be one of the nation's longest patient to suffer with coronavirus in Intensive Care, has walked for the first time in 10 months.
Jason Kelk, 49, was able to walk out of the bed he has been stuck in since April 1, 2020, and walk along the intensive care unit alongside hospital staff who have been beside him during his battle with long Covid.
His wife Sue, 63, received the video while at home - unable to visit him because of current restrictions - and was overjoyed to see her husband taking major steps to what she hopes will be a recovery.
Sue said: "It was absolutely amazing to receive that video. I knew he had taken a few steps, but he had never actually walked out of his bed.
"To know what he has gone through, to seeing him up and walking like that, it was like climbing for Mount Everest for him."
To put it mildly, Jason has had an incredibly difficult year.
After falling ill around Christmas in 2019, he developed a chest infection. As he began to make a recovery, his symptoms then suddenly began to worsen.
At the time, the country, nor the rest of the world, had much knowledge or information about coronavirus.
But Jason began to display several symptoms. After a few days, he was transported to Leeds General Infirmary by ambulance.
He tested positive for coronavirus and was put in the Intensive Care Unit on April 3, before being put on a ventilator the following day.
Ten months from that day, he remains on the ventilator at the same hospital, in the same unit.
Jason is thought to be one the nation's longest suffering Covid-19 patients, with only a handful of individuals in a similar situation as him who remain in hospital.
During his time in hospital, Jason has had non-covid related illnesses, which have also debilitated his health.
His wife Sue said: "His kidneys and lungs are almost completely destroyed and he has developed suspected gastroparesis.
"He had aspirated into his lungs so badly that he vomited a litre, this lead to him developing pneumonia.
"He then had a cardiac arrest later in the year. It's just been awful for him."
Sue said that Jason has good days and bad days in his recovery, with the bad days being difficult to deal with.
She said: "There has been times in which he's been confused, I think he's been delirious.
"He's been a danger to himself, pulling tubes out of himself - he's needed to be sedated and really so.
"It's tough seeing him like that, because that's not the type of person he is."
During his time in hospital, Sue has only been able to see her husband sparingly, which has been difficult for them both.
However, Jason has made small recovery steps in recent weeks, with Sue being able to see her husband three times in a week, and allowing him to go outside.
After being sent the video of Jason walking for the first time, Sue's spirits were at a high. However, she admits that she is careful of getting her hopes up for Jason's long-term recovery.
Sue said: "It has been full of happiness and dark depression. It’s been a rollercoaster.
"Sometimes I think, 'may be one day he will come home', but I know he is dependent on the kidney filter. There is a chance that he will be stuck in intensive care.
"We’re looking at months more in the ICU, many, many months.
"It’s an 'if' he comes home, not a 'when'. That's very tough to take.
"He's had major damage to his organs and we don't know if he'll ever be able to come off of the ventilator.
"Every day is a different day and presents different complications, blips or positives. We just take each day as it comes and hope he makes progress."
