A pensioner battled through a double spinal fracture, three chest infections and a stroke before defeating a nasty coronavirus infection.
Roy Hardy's family were deeply concerned he wasn't going to make it out of St George's Hospital in Tooting after he fell at home and fractured his spine in two places.
The 73-year-old had been badly impacted by a stroke a year earlier, leaving him weak and in need of regular care at a home.
Roy, who also suffers from epilepsy, contracted a chest infection in the south London hospital, which he recovered from only to then catch a second followed by a third.
Do you have an uplifting coronavirus story? Email webnews@trinitymirror.com
Miraculously the retired fish monger recovered from all three, despite his breathing already being severely hampered by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The series of medical ailments meant the chances of him surviving once he contracted Covid-19 while on his hospital bed were low.
Yet hardy Roy, who lives in Raynes Park, London, beat away the coronavirus, which has a higher fatality rate amongst the elderly and unwell.
"We were all up at the hospital as we thought he wasn't going to make it only to then discover he had contracted Covid-19," his step-daughter Samantha Roberts explained.
"The hospital staff moved him into isolation on the 15 March and took care of him until Wednesday.
"He is now back at home and has recovered from this virus.
"We have an amazing NHS. Not everyone has been so lucky, but I for one can't thank them enough."
Two days after the family visited Roy on the Thursday, his wife made to return to his bedside, only to be refused access.
The gardening enthusiast had tested positive for the coronavirus, they told her, and had to be isolated.
Samantha, a school bus driver, continued: "We rang every day to see how he was doing.
"During the first days they said he only had a bit of time left. He couldn't breath. He had the ventilator.
"He couldn't eat because his throat was closed up. His food was pureed and he survived on a yogurt a day.
"But then he started to get better."
Roy is now back at his care home, where he had another fall after trying to get out of bed.
Luckily no lasting damage was done this time.
When asked about the durability of Roy, who 'liked a drink and a fag', Samantha said: "His mum is still alive and she is 103. His nan was 106.
"I suppose he's got good genes."
