A MAN who beat pneumonia, collapsed lungs and coronavirus is working to give something back to the team which saved his life.

Paul Godfrey, 32, was rushed to hospital after becoming severely unwell.

Mr Godfrey had been battling a chest infection when he also developed symptoms of Covid-19.

He said: “Colchester Hospital were amazing. I was put in an area specifically for Covid-19 cases.

“They did an X-ray and found my lungs had collapsed and I had got pneumonia.

“Three days later the Covid-19 test came back positive.

“By this time I was already in ICU and they were saving my life.”

Mr Godfrey, who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was told it was likely he would need to be put in an induced coma.

He said: “I remember being terrified, alone and hearing those words and just thinking the worst. The odds were against me and the doctors had to be realistic about it.”

Mr Godfrey, from Frinton, set out his last wishes and funeral plans but said he was determined to survive.

Thankfully, his condition soon began to improve.

He said: “The team at the hospital made me feel so safe.

“I had a nurse looking after me 24 hours a day. They never left me.

“If I hadn’t gone to hospital that day I wouldn’t be here, 100 per cent.

“I decided I was going to get out of this.

“I kept saying to myself I need to get home to my family.”

Echo:

Mr Godfrey spent two weeks being treated on a ward before being able to return home.

He is now fundraising to say thank you to the teams who saved his life.

The money will be used to renovate the ICU family and counselling room.

Mr Godfrey will also prepare care packages for the ICU and Mersea wards.

He hopes to spread the message about how dangerous the virus is after making videos about it in hospital.

“People my age are not taking it seriously enough because they think they are young,” he said.

“The video has had 10,000 views and I have had messages from around the world.”

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