A delivery driver who beat coronavirus after two weeks strapped to a ventilator has recalled his frightening ordeal.
Tam McCue,64, thought he was a goner as his condition worsened at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
He knew he was in dire straits when the paramedic who arrived at his home in Barrhead “kept going on the radio, saying ‘I need that ambulance now .”’
Now he is fronting a recovery programme in the hope his story is inspirational to others.
Tam is among the first intensive care survivors to be part of a rehab programme run by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
The five-week course - which all has to be done online - has seen Tam being awarded A star status for his recovery.
Fiona Walker interviewed Tam for BBC Reporting Scotland in May as he recovered - still barely able to speak - at the RAH.
She’s now charted his progress back home in Barrhead and said his recovery “really is remarkable.”
Tam joked: “At least I look a bit better than the last time you saw me.”
He still suffers from fatigue after sometimes pushing himself too much.
Tam said: “It’s in the back of my mind as the years go on, how am I going to be, or if I will get it again.”
Dr Lisa Gemmell, an inpatient consultant at the RAH, said it can take between six and 12 months for people to get back to normal function.
But some will struggle to regain all they had.
She said: “Part of our role is to help them adapt to a new way of life.”
Speaking of the hospital’s ongoing fight against the virus, Dr Gemmell said: “Thankfully, for the last few months we have been back to our single intensive care unit.
“But we are ready to scale-up with 24 hours notice should there be a second surge.”
Tam, who’d never had a day off work in 30 years, says he just wants to get back on with his life.
He said: “I have come out the other end, but I have a long way to go.”
