Emotional moment father-of-one, 36, gets round of applause from NHS staff who saved him as he leaves intensive care after more than three weeks in a coma fighting coronavirus
- Jason Mageehan was in a coma for more than three weeks fighting coronavirus
- Colchester Hospital medics say it is close to a miracle that he even survived
- A video shows NHS staff applauding him as he leaves the ICU to go to a ward
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
A father-of-one, who tested positive for coronavirus, was applauded by the NHS staff who saved him as he left intensive care after three weeks.
Jason Mageehan spent more than three weeks in a coma fighting coronavirus and Colchester Hospital medics clapped him as he was discharged from intensive care at the weekend.
A video shared by Mr Mageehan on Facebook shows intensive care staff, wearing masks and face shields, clapping him as he is wheeled out of the intensive care unit.
Jason Mageehan, 36, was applauded by Colchester Hospital medics at the weekend when he finally left intensive care after coronavirus put him in a coma for more than three weeks
Mr Mageehan says ‘thank you’ to the NHS medics who saved him in a video of the moment and has since said he is ‘completely and utterly indebted’ to them
One medic is heard saying ‘well done’ as all the staff stop to give Mr Mageehan a round of applause – a gesture given to all coronavirus patients leaving intensive care.
Mr Mageehan says ‘thank you’ to the NHS medics who saved him in the video and has since said he is ‘completely and utterly indebted’ to them.
The 36-year-old from Colchester, Essex, was fully intubated after paramedics assessed he needed to be hospitalised at the end of March. He was not showing any coronavirus symptoms, including a high fever or cough.
Medics say it is close to a miracle that he survived.
‘To think about how ill I was and to now be just a few days from going home is incredible,’ he said to the Gazette.
Mr Mageehan believes he is one of the sickest people to be at Colchester Hospital and survive during the pandemic.
He took extreme precautions even before the lockdown began as he had a kidney transplant three years ago, putting him in the at-risk category, but has no idea how he caught the virus
‘People come up to me and ask if I remember them’: He will soon be sent home to be reunited with his wife, Eleth, and daughter, Blayke, whose first birthday and first steps he missed
He said: ‘There has been a very high staff presence and a lot of training going on to ensure they are prepared.
‘I keep having people come up to me and ask if I remember them.
‘One doctor said he spoke to me before I went into the coma and said it was close to a miracle I was where I am now.’
He took extreme precautions even before the lockdown began as he had a kidney transplant three years ago, putting him in the at-risk category.
There have been 173 total deaths at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust hospitals, with 95 deaths of these reported at Colchester Hospital.
Mr Mageehan does not know how he picked up the virus and urges people to take it seriously.
He said: ‘For many people, it will be a bad cold and not much more.
‘But for a significant amount of people it is going to be more serious.
‘You do not know how your body will respond – I am only 36 but was put in a coma.
‘Taking the precautions means you are protecting yourself and your family.’
The virus and subsequent treatment has left Mr Mageehan weak and his right arm immobile.
‘I have managed to march on the spot and take a dozen steps which is progress and I am going to get a home support programme and physios will visit for rehab,’ he said.
He will be sent home in a few days for an emotional reunion with his wife, Eleth, and daughter, Blayke, whose first birthday and first steps he missed.