A top police officer who is seizing a 'second chance at life' after winning his coronavirus fight has slammed people for ignoring the lockdown.
Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby started breathing for himself two weeks after being placed in a coma and on a ventilator during which time colleagues and the wider public sent him a string of goodwill messages.
The head of Birmingham's Criminal Justice Department was finally discharged on April 21 - three weeks after he was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties.
The dad-of-three now has a vital message to the public as people begin to increasingly ignore the lockdown rules ahead of a much-anticipated Government announcement on Sunday, Birmingham Live reports.
Touching on his own terrifying experience, he said he is 'very disturbed' by the 'blasé' way people are treating the lockdown.
Ch Supt Dolby took to Twitter to share an image of himself in a hospital gown from his stay last month and said: "A month ago today, on a ventilator & in a coma, I started to breathe for myself!
"I am v disturbed by the increasingly blasé way ppl are treating the lockdown.
"With lack of answers around immunity, my family & I are going to remain shielding. I can’t go thru that again. #Covid19 "
Ch Supt Dolby previously described the heartbreaking moment he left his family home in an ambulance on March 29 after being struck down with the virus.
In a video posted by West Midlands Police on its website, he explained: "Thank you for all the messages of support I have had online. All the messages of support I have had have been amazing - it has been quite overwhelming.
"I remember being in the back of an ambulance and saw the doors block out my family.
"That was the last time I was going to be home for three-and-a-half weeks during which I have been in and out of intensive care and in a coma where I was ventilated. Fighting for my life supported by the NHS until I came home a couple of days ago.
"I was ventilated for 13 days. I came out barely able to walk or talk and the affect on my mind was huge as well as my body.
"People have prayed for me on a 24/7 basis. That support is amazing and has emotionally affected me very much.
"I need to thank the NHS that looked after me. The NHS are just amazing. Much gratitude to those that brought me back to my family and gave me a second chance of life. Thanks to West Midlands Police as well - I love you.
"I am going to concentrate on my family and recovering from what we have all been through and getting back and getting stronger."
When Ch Supt Dolby left Worcester Royal Hospital he rang a bell as a crowd of doctors and nurses cheered.
He added: "You haven't just cared for me. What you are doing is brilliant. You have saved my life.
"I'm going back to my family. I will never stop thanking you."
