A CORONAVIRUS patient who worried he would not survive the illness is recovering at home.

Ringmer resident Stewart Boyle thought he was through the worst of his flu after a week of symptoms.

But on the eighth day of his illness the 64-year-old found it hard to breathe and “was not making sense”.

Concerned, his wife and daughters called an ambulance and he was taken to Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath where he tested positive for the virus.

He was put on oxygen but worried he “would not make it”.

“Within an hour I was being wheeled into a ‘red zone’ for triage where I had lots of tests taken,” he said.

“That first day in hospital I was actually really worried I wouldn’t make it.

“It was a scary time.

“But I made a commitment that I’d pull through.”

After three days on oxygen, Stewart was given the all-clear and was discharged home.

He has been recovering for more than a month and said things would have been much worse if he waited any longer to go to hospital.

“I’m so lucky I caught it early, lots of people, especially men, would probably leave it until too late,” he said.

“It was like a bad flu initially, then I seemed to get better but at around eight days in the real battle began when my lungs started to become affected.

“The key moment for me was when my wife and daughters called for an ambulance.

“Another couple of days and I think I’d have been in real trouble.

“Going straight on to oxygen gave my lungs a break and allowed them time to fight back.”

Stewart paid tribute to the staff who helped him win his battle with the virus.

“I take my hat off to the staff. You supported me back from the edge,” he said.

“I felt I was in good hands, from the cleaners to the senior consultants.

“I was able to relax, be looked after and concentrate on the main task of getting better and fighting off the virus.

“There was a real solidarity among the staff, lots of good humour and a real team spirit.

“It sounds like a cliché but when you see it first-hand it’s true.

“I was so impressed by the level of communication which kept things running smoothly on the ward.

“The hospital staff were regularly checking in and asking questions. They upped the oxygen when I needed it and overall they were brilliant.

“A belated thank you to everyone at Princess Royal Hospital for the amazing support and professionalism during my recent Covid-19 stay.”

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust, which runs the Princess Royal and the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, revealed 180 coronavirus patients have been discharged from its hospitals as of the end of April.

It is not known how many cases have recovered nationally since the pandemic began. Last week East Sussex Healthcare Trust, which runs hospitals in Eastbourne, Bexhill and St Leonards, said 65 coronavirus patients it had discharged 65.