The creator of ITV show Doc Martin has penned the terrifying ordeal he faced after being rushed to hospital with Covid-19.
Dominic Minghella, 53, says his symptoms were almost non-existent at first but by a week he had lost his appetite, had a temperature of 38.8C and was so weak he struggled to hold a cup, he told The Observer.
On the 12th day of having the disease the father-of-four says he was rushed to King’s College Hospital in London, where he quickly realised Covid-19 may take his life, but thoughts of his family, including his daughter Rosa, 11, helped him pull through.
Dominic Minghella, who created Doc Martin and worked on BBC’s Robin Hood, has shared his terrifying experience battling Covid-19 for two weeks
After more than a week with Covid-19, the screen writer was admitted to King’s College Hospital, where he says he was faced with the possibility the disease could kill him
He spoke of trying to write letters to his children and calling loved ones as doctors and nurses spoke to him at his hospital bed.
The former Robin Hood chief show runner spoke of the professionalism of NHS staff, saying it was exhausting to watch them deal with the flow of patients.
Speaking on his thoughts at the time, Mr Minghella wrote in The Observer: ‘I’m determined to fight, to try to live for my kids, my partner and my family. I’m brave and I’m going to be braver.’
The writer would spend two days in the hospital, he told the paper how he struggled with the idea of leaving his children without a father, while he continued to be monitored and tested,
Dominic Minghella created Doc Martin in 2004, the surname of the main character, portrayed by Martin Clunes (above) is Ellingham, an anagram of the Minghella family name
Mr Minghella, who was born in the Isle of Wight spoke of his fear of being taken to the hospital’s dedicated Covid-19 ward, which he dramatically brands ‘the place where they die’.
After undergoing a CT scan and two tests, he was sent home, without fanfare, he says, to recover.
After two weeks with the potentially fatal illness, staff discharged the writer, he spoke of how he was escorted out by a nurse.
He writes: ‘I want to thank the staff. I want to hug them. But they barely look up from their stations. I’m going they most definitely are here for the long term.’
He ends: ‘None of it is fair. To die without family close by. A hand to hold. Has death ever been so lonely and bleak?’ ‘I want to thank the staff, to hug them, but there is no goodbye. I am going: they most definitely are here for the long term’
Source: Daily Mail – Articles
