Hastings man explains what it was like to recover from Covid-19

Ben Crease was diagnosed with the virus in March after being admitted to Conquest Hospital, approximately ten days after first experiencing symptoms.

After being told by a doctor there was a very real risk he may die if no action was taken, Ben was put into a medically induced coma and transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Eight days later, he became just the second Covid patient in Hastings to be extubated (breathing tube removed) and shortly after was transferred to Baird Ward to continue his recovery.

There he suffered hallucinations and said he was terrified of falling asleep because he feared he may never wake up. He recalled a time when he only managed a few hours of sleep in a 110 hour period.

Once he returned home, Ben said another side of his experience as a Covid-19 survivor came to light: "I was still terrified of sleeping, the night terrors were back and I would just start crying for no apparent reason. It is like I feel so guilty for something and I know it is not my fault. Why did I survive when so many better people have died?

"One of the nurses telephoned every day to see how I was getting on and I also had conversations and e-mails with the hospital psychologist which really helped.

"I have noticed that there are some gaps in my memories, short and long term, I do not know if this is related to my experience or just old age creeping up on me, but there is definitely some information missing."

Looking back, Ben said he first showed symptoms of Covid-19 on the weekend of March 14 and 15, when he felt a 'bit tingly' down his back as though a cold breeze was hitting him.

Unaware he had the virus, he visited his 93-year-old mum and 94-year-old dad, but fortunately kept his distance and did not infect them.

Ben's condition got worse and on March 24 he said he felt like he had been hit by a train and 'done ten rounds with Mike Tyson'. Struggling to breathe, he eventually called for an ambulance and was taken into hospital.

Ben lost ten per cent of his body weight while in hospital and needed help from doctors to start walking again. He started getting stronger but said he still struggles to sleep while he is on his own.

"I still get scared," he added. "I still have a few night terrors and still get moments of tears with some emotional confusion. Talking things over with professionals can certainly help put things in perspective.

"I do not know if all of this will gradually fade away. What I do know is that I have been given a second chance and that I need to rationalise these fears and anxieties so I can move forwards with living again.

“It is not a crime to survive Covid-19 and to come back from the brink of death but yet sometimes it feels as though it is.

"I have a new found wariness of strangers and I can get very jumpy in situations like the supermarket where social distancing seems to go out of the window.

"I have also noticed the different reactions of people when they hear of my illness. Some do not seem to care that this virus is a killer, some are still in denial that there is a virus at all and there are a few that just make fun of the whole thing. Family and friends have been very good and accept that along with the physical trauma the unseen mental scars may be around for some time to come."

At the start of July, Ben started participating in Conquest Hospital's ongoing research into Covid-19 which involves speaking to people who have survived the virus after being in a coma or on a ventilator.

He is now back to work - servicing fire extinguishers - but says he is very cautious about which premises to visit and always wears a mask and a face shield.

Ben has also decided he wants to give back to those who saved his life and has started by giving £1,000 to the ICU department at Conquest Hospital.

"Yes I know that is only a drop in the ocean compared to the expense incurred in them saving me," Ben added. "But it is a start and hopefully they can use it towards something that will help save someone else.

"I have watched the effects of easing lock-down restrictions and I am dismayed that so many people still seem complacent about Covid. The virus cannot read and it has no ears to hear Government advice and would not comply even if it had. It is still about and there is not yet any vaccine. This virus has one purpose and that is to infect and kill as many people as it can.

"Keep your distance, keep clean, keep safe, for you may not be as fortunate as me."