A dad-of-two whose lungs were scarred by Covid-19 was told he had a 50/50 chance of survival.
Dean Frost self-isolated at home in Sunderland on the advice of a doctor after falling ill at the end of March with coronavirus-like symptoms.
The 39-year-old was rushed to hospital by paramedics when his health began to deteriorate and his oxygen levels dropped dangerously low, Chronicle Live reported.
Shortly after he arrived at Sunderland Royal Hospital, Dean was told he had a 50/50 chance of making it.
Dean said: “They said I was 30 minutes away from being in the intensive care unit (ICU) as my lungs were that scarred. They said there was a 50/50 chance I was going to die.
“I didn’t have to go to the ICU because the levels of oxygen increased.
“It was the scariest moment of my life.”
If Dean had been admitted to the ICU he would have been put in an induced coma and on a ventilator.
When Dean left his wife, Natalie, 38, and their two children, Gabrielle, 16, and Louis, 12, they didn’t know if they would ever see him again.
He said: “No one is allowed to go with you, you are allowed no contact with them.
“I had my phone so I was trying to use that and tell them what was happening.”
Dean spent eight days in hospital before being allowed to return home.
He said: “The support and help in the hospital was incredible. I was lucky to get out.”
Dean is pleading for people to stick to the Government’s lockdown rules and stay home.
He said: “Stay in, be safe. Spend time with your family, you never know what is round the corner.”
