In December 2020 both my husband Jim and I contracted Covid, just a few days after my father had died of it.

I had the mild illness many experience, feeling groggy for around 8 days, but it was soon obvious that Jim was having a much tougher time - he was quite breathless and had completely stopped eating which is unheard of for a 6’4” ex-rugby player! 

Being someone who loves a gadget, a few months before I’d bought an oximeter from Amazon to measure blood oxygen levels - and thank goodness I did. I took Jim’s reading on the evening of Sunday 20 December and it was 92%, but on Monday morning it had dropped to 82%. He couldn’t even stand up to walk to the bathroom.

I called 111 and they were fantastic. Within 25 minutes an ambulance had arrived. And around 20 minutes later the paramedics advised taking Jim to hospital as they were clearly concerned - his hands were ice cold and he was severely dehydrated, despite the pints of squash I’d been giving him.

Jim then spent 12 days at Lincoln County Hospital, being treated for Covid Pneumonia and cared for by the amazing medical team on Neustadt/Welton ward. He had two 24-hour stints on CPAP - described recently by a nurse as being similar to sticking your head out of a car window doing 60mph and opening your mouth.

Luckily, thanks to FaceTime, both my son and I were able to speak to Jim regularly, which was a blessed relief as we obviously couldn’t visit him.

And then on 28 December things started to change. Jim told me he was going to get up and take a walk around his bed. It was imperative that his blood oxygen levels stabilised and he was going to do everything he could to kickstart his recovery. He had clearly mentally turned a corner. And so every few hours my son and I would get a WhatsApp messages telling us that he’d done another 50 steps, then it was 100, and then 150. 

Needless to say his recovery continued and he was discharged on 1 January 2021. What a New Year’s gift to us all!! After thinking on Christmas Day that I might lose my husband to Covid only a few days after it took my father, this was a momentous and emotional day for us all.

BUT… this would not have been such a happy ending if it hadn’t been for the tireless work and dedication of the medical team that looked after Jim. They are nothing short of superheroes to us, we owe them everything.

And so Jim has carried on walking… Often he’ll walk 35 kilometres in  one day, getting up at 5am to begin his mammoth walks. His latest chest X-ray showed his lungs are now practically clear and he has lost 3 stone. Lincoln County Hospital Respiratory Team say they’re amazed at his recovery, but if they’d witnessed his sheer determination since being discharged they would understand how he’s achieved it.

We had hoped that on 21 August this year he would start walking the Thames Path, 184 miles in total, in aid of the heroes and heroines who didn’t just save his life, but who also kept him smiling and emotionally strong. Sadly, owing to infection rates and hospitalisation numbers at the beginning of August we have decided to delay the walk for the time being.

But Jim will carry on improving his health and fitness with challenges between now and then - and we will keep you updated! 

Jim is keen to show everyone who has suffered badly from Covid that it is possible to recover, and to be healthier than every before!

We are so proud of him and his unshakeable resolve to get fit and healthy. And we are very conscious of the awful toll this dreadful virus has taken on the fantastic medical staff who treated him and hundreds of thousands just like him.

Please support him and our wonderful healthcare workers by making a donation if you can, and please share this page with friends and colleagues.

Thank you so very much,

Jim, Debs and Ben Lee x

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.