A SCOTTISH dad who’s on the road to recovery after spending five weeks in intensive care with Covid-19 has thanked the “incredible” staff who saved his life.

Euan Oattes, 62, was admitted to University Hospital Ayr on March 24 with coronavirus symptoms including breathing difficulties, and was quickly put on a ventilator.

Oattes’s family was warned twice during his time in the ICU that he was unlikely to make it through the night, and had a further scare when his kidneys failed. But last week, Oattes’s son Barry said the family was “euphoric” to learn he’d received three negative coronavirus tests and was leaving the unit.

An incredible video, posted on NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s Facebook page, showed staff lining the corridor to applaud Oattes as he left the ward to begin his recovery.

Barry, 39, said: “He was the sickest man that they’d had. I think that’s why his guard of honour as they call it was so large, because all the staff had so much invested in him surviving.”

He said his father felt “honoured” by the applause but insisted the moment wasn’t about him, and instead wanted to draw attention to the doctors and nurses who worked tirelessly to keep him alive. “He said he just couldn’t believe all the faces of the nurses and all the people who had helped him.

“When he got pushed out he said it was just so good to see them all and realise how many of them there were. He didn’t realise just how many people had touched him and looked after him over the weeks.

“Everyone’s had a hard time of it, and a lot of mental stuff – so I think they were very chuffed to have a win from someone that was that sick.”

Barry said the last five weeks had been “hellish” for the family, who due to strict infection control measures in place currently were not able to visit their dad in hospital while he was unwell.

“It was really awful to just not to see his face and not to hear his voice or even just see him with my own eyes.

“There’s just no evidence. You’re just hearing from doctors and nurses, which to be fair they were excellent at putting across the information, but you just want to get that evidence with your own eyes and your own senses to be able to make sense of it, but you can’t.”

Barry spoke of the amazing effort NHS staff had put into helping his dad get better. He said initially while his dad was on the ventilator, staff were using a massaging technique to help keep him alive.

Things seamed bleak for the family in the beginning – during that first week Oattes’s son, daughter Emma and wife Karen received two phone calls from the hospital warning he wasn’t going to make it through the night. They had a further scare when they were told his kidneys were failing. “We nearly lost him again when he was on dialysis and back up at 100% oxygen,” Barry said.

But thanks to the staff at University Hospital Ayr, Oattes was soon strong enough to get a tracheotomy, which his son says improved his health “massively”. Just a few days later, and after his negative coronavirus tests, he was moved onto a non-Covid ward where he is continuing his recovery.

“He feels amazing, he feels great,” Barry said, adding Oattes is now sitting up with his iPad and being updated on the things he’s missed.

“He can’t wait to get out, he can’t wait to get started on his physio,” Barry continued. “He’s got to do a lot of physio for the next year or so just to build up his muscles both internally and externally, his diaphragm, just for breathing and walking about, because the muscles just aren’t so good after five weeks of being on your back.

“He can’t wait to get out to see his wife and he can’t wait to see his kids.”