British man struck down by coronavirus describes horror symptoms of deadly disease [Photo]

Daily Mirror (London) ^ | February 6, 2020 | Jonathan Coles

[familyop]

A British man once struck down by coronavirus has described how the horror symptoms of the deadly disease almost killed him. Simon Parker, 47, thought he was suffering from a common cold when he fell ill on Boxing Day in 2016. But he became severely ill over the next few days and by New Year's Eve couldn't even breathe - forcing him to desperately call 999. He was taken from his home in Kingswear, Devon, to a hospital where he was put into an induced coma.

[familyop]

Our race is not immune. The photo is behind the link.

[familyop]

Ping.

[Red Badger]

"She told me what was wrong with me. She said it was a rare virus called coronavirus, which slows down your respiratory system.

"I had never heard of it. When I Googled it I was shocked to read it came from farm animals - I'm a builder!

"It was a mystery. Her exact words were: 'You are a very lucky boy to be alive'.

I bet he uses a lot of materials with 'MADE IN CHINA' labels.....................

[null and void]

Note that date! 2016!

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I was shocked to read it came from farm animals

BS -- the BIG LIE!!

[BobL]

“Our race is not immune.”

WRONG! He a Brit, not an American.

(that’s my way of trying to rationalize the insane perception that some have, that all is well, nothing to worry about)

[VA40]

Insinuates he has no idea how he got it. Scary.

[T-Bird45]

Some interpretation on my part here but it appears this patient was treated privately as the story details certainly don’t match up with my admittedly-minimal understanding of the National Health Service protocols in the UK. I look forward to a response from a better-informed FReeper.

[cba123]

Good point.

[Red Badger]

He fell ill on Boxing Day in 2016, so waaay before the Chinese outbreak...................

[null and void]

Insinuates he has no idea how he got it. Scary.

I have no idea how 'Simon the sheep shagger' got it...

[familyop]

Yes, it’s not a new virus in general. 2016 or 2019, it’s an RNA virus and will tend to mutate. Let’s hope that it will mutate into a weakened strain again this year and won’t kill us all off just yet.

[null and void]

Not just yet...

[Codeflier]

Let’s see...After over-hyped crisis fear mongering over and over again my entire life - it is insane to have the perception there is nothing to worry about.

I could probably sit down and come up with 50 things in my lifetime that were the beginning of the end, that turned into nothing.

Yet you think it is insane to have judgment based on experience in life?

[BobL]

“Yet you think it is insane to have judgment based on experience in life?”

I agree about false panics - to a point.

We all can choose when to start worrying about this one, but having a cruise ship on lock-down in Tokyo Harbor because one person carried the virus on, and now 20 of 70 people tested positive there (with the other 3700 people not even tested), is enough for me to start taking preparation steps.

[null and void]

This time it’ll be different! (Said every professor and/or politician advocating communism)

[Zhang Fei]

[Some interpretation on my part here but it appears this patient was treated privately as the story details certainly don’t match up with my admittedly-minimal understanding of the National Health Service protocols in the UK. I look forward to a response from a better-informed FReeper.]

---

It would not surprise me if he had supplemental insurance on top of the universal coverage provided by the NHS. I’ve heard numbers ranging from $200 to $300 a month per person for this coverage. This is how you get to the head of the line, at private facilities, which get some amount covered by the NHS, with the rest paid for by the insurance company. My knowledge is foggy, because I’m getting this coverage info second-hand, and only as a part of some other conversation, from someone who has coverage.

[allendale]

Probably not be the same strain of coronavirus that is causing the current pandemic. That is a critical epidemiological point.

[Varda]

“Our race is not immune”???
I’m of the human race, what are you?

[null and void]

We’re stocked up to hunker down for a while. I have 2 commitments requiring leaving the house and after that, cabin fever time.

Mean while we’ve restricted contact with hunans, hand sanitizer before even touching the steering wheel, and lots of hand washing. The last batch of groceries is sitting untouched in the garage, five days ought to be long enough for surface contamination to die off.

We’re 11 minutes from the nearest international airport...