A 60-year-old patient who spent nearly three weeks in hospital battling coronavirus was finally discharged from the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Abingdon resident Ken Wood was rushed to the hospital with a high temperature and difficulty breathing where he remained for 19 days as healthcare workers nursed him back to life.

The patient was moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he was looked after for almost two weeks and received ventilator treatment.

His two daughters were even put on compassionate leave to support his wife, Helen Wood.

However, his condition improved and he was moved back to the coronavirus recovery ward.

Now, after he was well enough to be discharged, Mr Wood wants to thank healthcare workers for saving him.

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The Abingdon local praised the staff at John Radcliffe Hospital for their 'professionalism' and for giving him a 'second chance at life'.

Mr Wood said: "Thanks to the care I received, I am restored to my family and community.

"I will never forget what has been done for me, and what staff continue to do for others.

"The reunion with my loving family was extraordinarily special as tears of joy flowed from all our eyes.

Oxford Mail:

"To my disappointment though the dog did not recognise me or my smell, so it just walked off."

Mr Wood moved back to his home in South Oxfordshire following an occupational health assessment and review of his home living situation

The former patient, who lost 12kg during his hospital stay, has been doing breathing exercises and is now able to go out for up to 40-minute walks.

However, he still requires a lot of rest, and is receiving support from an ICU counsellor after experiencing nightmares and disturbing hallucinations.

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Mr Wood’s youngest daughter, Laura – an ICU nurse at another trust – kept a diary of the daily updates of his condition and explained to him what nurses and doctors had to do to keep him alive.

He said: “Reading it on my return made me shudder with fear knowing my oxygen levels had dropped to critically low levels a couple of times, risking other major complications.

“However, I recognise I had been placed in the care of truly professional hands.

“I cannot thank the John Radcliffe staff enough.”

As of Friday, the latest number of cases of coronavirus has been confirmed as 1,994 in Oxfordshire with 359 of these in South Oxfordshire.

Professor Meghana Pandit, chief medical officer at the trust congratulated the former patient for his recovery.

She said: "We are so pleased that Mr Wood recovered, was well enough to be discharged from hospital, and is able to continue his recovery back home with his family.

"We hope he feels more like himself as soon as possible.

"The response from OUH staff to this pandemic has been superb, and I would like to thank them for their continued dedication and tireless work at this time as we continue to offer compassionate, excellent care for our patients.”