A dad 'died for 25 minutes' after his heart stopped when he fell ill with coronavirus.
Ken Austin, 83, from Salford, said he can't stop thinking how 'lucky' he is to have recovered following his six week ordeal in hospital.
The army veteran's coronavirus symptoms began at the end of August.
His wife Winnie said: “He was struggling at home for a few days, he couldn’t eat properly.
"So, I rang the Covid nurses who came out and rang an ambulance for him.”
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It's lucky she called the ambulance when she did - the day after Ken had a heart attack after being taken to Salford Royal hospital.
Ken spent six weeks in hospital battling the virus.
He said: “I was dead for 25 minutes; it wasn’t scary because I didn’t know anything about it.
“I didn’t know I was dead.”
When he first arrived in hospital, Ken wasn’t allowed any visitors.
“Luckily, I was in a ward where it was possible for my wife to come and see me and chat through the window", he said.
After three weeks, he was moved out of that ward which made it possible for Winnie to come and see him in the same room.
Ken Austin has been living in Walkden, Salford for 55 years after marrying his wife in 1966.
They met at a friend’s wedding and have been together ever since.
In this time, he served three years in the army and two based in Hong Kong.
There isn’t anywhere like home for Ken, it’s another thing he missed when in hospital.
He said: “Even if you are comfortable in hospital, there is always something off about it.
"At home I can do what I want.”
Ken described the staff at Salford Royal as 'amazing'.
He said: “Don’t ever be afraid to go to Salford Royal, they look after you well.”
Ken is lucky to be alive after falling so ill with coronavirus.
He said he was totally unaware how ill he became during his stay in hospital.
He said: “I wasn’t worried about not coming back home whilst I was in there, I worry about that now.
"I didn’t know I had a heart attack whilst I was there, I was only told that when I was leaving and I keep thinking how lucky I was.”
Winnie said those weeks without him were difficult for her.
She said: “It was hard and I was worrying all the time, I have cancer as well and Ken would drop me off at the Christie so it’s been awkward getting there on my own.”
Ken still isn’t allowed to drive after his heart attack, he’s hoping his doctor will deem him fit to drive soon.
He said: “We’re having to rely a lot on our daughter for help since I can’t drive and taxis are a nightmare.
"I want my freedom back, to go wherever I want.”
He said he was grateful that he had his family around him to support him, and help him recover.
He said: “I feel sorry for people who don’t have anyone to come home to, I needed to have someone here.”
When Ken returned home, the first place he went to was the Walkden Legion.
The other regulars all gathered round giving him hugs and shaking his hand, all thrilled he made it back.
He said: “It was out of this world when I went back, it was lovely to see everyone.”
Covid couldn’t keep Ken and Winnie away from their Saturday nights out, they’re planning to go again this weekend.
He joked: “They built us out of strong stuff back then.”
