A man who was hospitalised with coronavirus lost five stone in five weeks after being hooked up to a ventilator and says he feels 'very, very lucky' to be alive.
Kim Wai Li, 43, has dropped from 15 stone to 10 after he contracted the potentially fatal virus and ended up in hospital.
Li, who works as a software developer, was given just a 20 percent chance of survival after being hospitalised with coronavirus.
He has now shared photos of himself to show people the toll the virus can take on a patient's body.
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Li said: "It's been one hell of a journey. Physically it was like a slap in the face.
"I didn't recognise myself in the mirror when I saw how much weight I'd lost.
"I'm determined to keep my weight where it is. It's a second lease of life.
"I was on pills for my blood pressure when I went in and it's now within normal limits.
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"How else can you take it? You can either sit there and think 'Wow that was a really depressing episode of my life' and let it affect you or take it for what it is - that you've been very, very lucky."
Li and his mother-in-law Ying Lau, 63, both became ill on the 12 March, with the dad-of-two believing he likely caught the virus after getting a train to work in London.
His mother-in-law was sent to the hospital following advice from her GP due to her age and the fact she is diabetic.
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Meanwhile, Li began to experience trouble breathing and also went into A&E at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich on 17 March.
Doctors suspected Li had a chest infection and sent him home with antibiotics, but three days later his symptoms were so bad he was not able to manage them at home.
He called 111 and was told to return to A&E via an ambulance. A short while later his mother-in-law's coronavirus test results came back as positive.
Once in hospital his condition continued to worsen and five days later doctors called his wife Ceri to tell her they had moved Li to intensive care and that he was being placed on a ventilator in an induced coma.
Ceri said: "We were thinking this could actually kill him. It was a really scary time for his family. It's an unknown because there's no cure and we all knew it was just down to him to fight it himself."
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The family were not allowed to visit Li in hospital.
Weeks later on the 9 April, Li woke up - but his kidneys were not filtering properly and he had to begin dialysis at Kings Hospital.
Li added: "I knew my name and date of birth but I didn't know what day it was or where the hell I was. He said I was in a coma and I was like 'Say what now?'"
An initial Covid-19 test came back negative, but a second confirmed he had the virus.
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Li says he was so weak when he came around he struggled to hold his phone and was shocked when he saw how much weight had had lost. His initial weigh in showed he'd dropped five stone, around one stone per week since he had contracted the virus.
He was discharged on 22 April. As well as losing five stone, has dropped four inches off his waist and his blood pressure, which was high before he had coronavirus, is now normal.
Wife Ceri said: "When he came off the ventilator he was 10 stone. A lot of muscle weight was gone.
"When I opened the door, I didn't recognise him. His face was a lot slimmer. I was really shocked. So shocked that he had to ask me if he could come in.
Li says he cannot thank the doctors and nurses who looked after him enough, adding: "Seeing the family, the kids and my wife again, there was a huge sense of relief. I don't do it often but I will admit I suddenly started crying.
"Throughout the dreams when I was sedated there was always one theme - to get home.
"I wanted to see my family, even if it was for the last time.
"In the dreams I made a deal with someone. I said if you let me home now, I'll get to see my family one last time, I'm then your prisoner. It was that that kept me going."
Featured Image Credit: Triangle News
Topics: UK News, Coronavirus