This programme contains some scenes that viewers may find upsetting,
and was filmed within hospital COVID guidelines.
He came to us on the 22nd of March.
That was the day before the 23rd lockdown.
He doesn't really have much medical history,
certainly would normally be thought of as a healthy man,
and Joaquin has, on so many occasions,
just been clutching to life.
IN SPANISH:
So I think, everybody, he has been in hospital a long time.
He's been with us for nearly, I think, 110 days today.
OK.
He's got significant complications from the coronavirus.
His whole body has been affected - his brain, his lungs,
his heart, his blood vessels, his kidneys.
The ventilator is an intervention of last resort,
and it's, literally, it's about keeping people alive,
but he has a much greater chance of dying than surviving this.
Every day we try to make a little bit of progress.
I really hope this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.
The rate was so extraordinary in March.
You know, we saw one or two.
We thought, OK, this is starting now.
And then suddenly within, you know, two weeks
we were all completely overwhelmed.
It was pretty terrifying, and still remains, you know,
an extraordinary thing.
And we all thought this was a disease where you just
put people on a ventilator for five days,
the virus would go, they'd get better
and you'd come off the ventilator.
And it could not be further from that.
This is something we hadn't really seen before.
There is nothing, nothing, that I've experienced
could compare to this.
Our first dance together as boyfriend and girlfriend was
Al Green, Let's Stay Together.
I was 12.
And then we got married when I was 17.
And then we become parents a month before my 18th birthday.
We hadn't got a clue what we were doing.
We hadn't got a clue.
48 years, married 42.
So, yeah, it's rare this day and age, really.
He was diagnosed with cancer, and we went in 24th of January,
we started the conditioning treatment.
And the news from that is that he is cancer-free.
But he went into a hospital with some infections
from the bone marrow, which is normal,
and that's when the Covid-19 has hit him hard.
But we are confident and positive that he's going to come through it.
This is the first time I've seen him intubated.
It's kind of really surreal, actually, just looking at him
and thinking back to what he looked like.
And the last time I saw him he was sitting bolt upright,
and really struggling with his breathing.
We had to have quite a difficult conversation at that time
about whether, you know, he needed to be intubated.
I think he was just worried about what would happen
and whether he would wake up again.
And so I kind of just had a frank conversation with him,
held his hand and I just said, you know,
"Are you struggling?"
And he just, you know, he just nodded.
I think he was quite sensible at that point,
and realised that it had to be done.
It's hard to tell what the long-term repercussions are going to be
at this time.
You know, it can be quite impersonal,
you know, on Intensive Care, having wires and tubes everywhere,
and so I think, yeah, it's really important not to forget,
even when they are connected to the ventilator
and they're, you know, they're really unwell,
you can't forget that there's a human there -
that could be your father, your uncle, your brother.
Here he is.
LAUGHTER
He's got...
This is Majorca.
Every year we would go on holiday.
Holidays were really important to us,
because Dave worked a lot of hours.
He was a builder.
So holidays to us,
we needed to go to a place that we could actually reconnect.
It's the first thing we're going to do when dad's out,
is book a family holiday. Yeah.
He's always for a laugh, isn't he?
Yeah. He is.
He's just got, like, Peter Pan syndrome...
Yeah. ..so just forgets that he's the age he is
and just acts the clown.
Yeah. So, yeah.
We went fishing, and his fishing chair collapsed.
DAVID: Kelly's 17th birthday.
# Happy birthday to you
# Happy birthday dear Kelly... #
Smile, Josh.
Mum, don't he look funny there?
Can you hear his laughing?
And that goes on and on and on.
DAVID LAUGHS ON VIDEO
Oh, I've missed that laugh.
Oh, is that that one done?
How many years have you been married?
Even as you renew your vows this evening, Tobi and Kunbi,
in sickness and in health.
To love and to cherish till death do you part.
Father, I want to thank you, Lord, because you are the Almighty God.
There is none like you.
The Bible says the entrance of your world "give it light".
I love my dad quite dearly,
and I almost have like a mystical type of reverence I have for him.
Were you there the day that he went into hospital?
I wasn't there, I was at university.
All I know was the ambulance was called,
he was taken in an ambulance.
Yeah.
I was at university and, yeah...
It was a bit...bit of a tough time.
Tobi, are you quite uncomfortable?
No?
Tobi's an example of someone who has been hit
in so many different ways by Covid.
So, yes, he needed the support with the ventilator for his breathing,
but also his kidneys failed, and he has had strokes.
He has had several cardiac arrests whilst being in hospital.
With every expectation that he might die...
..you know, the conversations we have with him
and his family are thread through with realism
about the fact that he is still in a very vulnerable state.
We've dealt with large numbers of very sick people
as a result of Covid.
An awful lot of tragedy.
An awful lot of horrible situations
where families have not been able to be with their loved ones.
I remember the last conversation I had with him
just before he went in, he was, like, coughing very profusely,
and I thought "Well, this is it,"
and I had to just come to terms with that.
I really felt like, being 18, I just turned 18 in December,
I was expecting 2020 to be like me being 18,
this whole time I would have been having the time of my life,
and having my experiences.
I mean me being way younger than Deji,
I don't think too much,
cos I know when I do it's just very confusing.
Like they said he had a cardiac arrest
and I was really, like, broken from that and really scared.
This is kind of like an invisible war that we're fighting.
And pandemics and plagues are something that
we'd completely forgotten about.
And it's something that's so recurrent throughout human history,
but I think the human race, we did get quite big for our boots
in thinking that somehow that could never happen again.
But, yeah, Mother Nature just came and smacked us around the face
and said, like, this is... "Don't forget about me",
like, "I'm still here and I can still beat you up".
Do you want jelly?
No, thank you.
Actually, yes, please.
I want...
Mummy, can you help me?
Majidah, I have to do cooking quickly.
How do you like cereal bars?
He's a very nice person, because he's a caring dad.
Daddy and his girls enjoying his birthday.
Sometimes he's grumpy, and we like that part of him
because we laugh about it,
and the kids always say that.
# Happy birthday to you
# Happy birthday to you... #
The teachers were telling us about the virus.
They said that sometimes it kills people,
sometimes some people survive from it.
PRODUCER: How long has your dad been in hospital for? Since March.
Two months and some weeks.
I don't know how he caught it. No-one knows, to be honest.
Because during that week, most time, he was home.
PRODUCER: Have you been able to see your dad at all in hospital?
No, but we do do a video call, so we can say hello to him.
Mummy? Yes? When are you going to get the chocolate?
I feel happy that I get to see him, but then I feel sad,
cos it sometimes makes my mum cry,
and then I cry as well.
NURSE: Are you all right? Yes, please, we are ready.
Look at Daddy. SHE CRIES
Are you OK? Yeah.
Sama, we hope you can hear us.
Please come back. THEY CRY
Please come back.
I know... Please come back.
Please come back.
Please come back. Come back!
You all right? Yeah. Thank you.
SHE CRIES
Most of the time, I think about it.
I always think about my dad.
But sometimes I have to try and put it out of my mind
cos it upsets me a lot.
I have to try and help my sisters study a lot.
It's been very hard because they miss my dad too.
My littlest sister, she always cries in the night
and says she misses daddy, she misses daddy.
And then my second sister, she always sleeps with my mum
because she's always scared without daddy.
She says he's the one that protects us in the night
cos he's the strongest, and he's the man of the house.
He's been on his own for such a long time up there now.
PRODUCER: This period he's been in hospital,
is this the longest you two have been apart
since you've been together? Most definitely.
This just seems so cruel.
I've been offered video calls,
but I can't bring myself to do a video call
because, obviously, Dave's asleep.
But today we got the chance to go up there.
And I'm nervous, excited,
cos I want to hold his hand,
I want to touch his skin, and I want to talk to him.
I don't know if he'll hear.
But in my mind, in my heart, he will.
He will. And it will give him...
..the boost that he needs to do another fight.
This Covid-19, or "Rona", as we call it,
cannot keep pounding him.
It's indescribable.
It's the silent one, isn't it?
But it affects you in so many different ways.
We're off now, love.
Anything you want me to tell Dad?
Uh, yeah.
Hurry up. THEY CHUCKLE
Have you got a key to get in, Mum? Yeah.
Yeah, I've put my keys in.
All right, then. We'll see you later.
Speak to you later, love. See you later. Yeah?
We should remember we have not dealt with the Covid before.
It's also, to us, a new disease.
So David has now developed severe adult respiratory distress syndrome.
And the cause of that is this awful viral disease, the coronavirus.
This is David's CT scan of his chest when David had early symptoms.
What we're looking at here at the moment is
this is what a normal lung should look like, dark.
And if you pay attention, a little bit here on the right side,
you see a little bit of this whiteness coming in there.
For reasons we still haven't understood completely,
that then often progresses.
If you don't get better, that progresses.
So this is a CT scan done when David deteriorated.
That's white. It should be dark. It should be black.
So this whiteness indicates the virus,
and in David's case, there is very little healthy lung left.
So David really reached a stage where not enough oxygen
was getting from the ambient air into his lungs,
so that the oxygen delivery from the lungs to his organs
went down very, very low, and you can imagine what happens then.
All our organs need oxygen to keep working, to be alive.
And if not enough oxygen is delivered,
cells in our body, cells in the organs do die off,
and that often starts with brain cells die off,
cells in the kidneys die off.
They stop functioning,
eventually, if you don't intervene, they die off,
and the patient will die.
This rounded white structure,
this is the breathing tube which sits in the windpipe.
He's completely dependent on the life support machine,
the ventilator.
We would hope we could do better,
we would have a cure for this disease
but, unfortunately, that magic pill
which would allow us to cure these patients quickly
has not been found, and that's the sad side of it.
We're here to see David Hussey.
Are you his relatives? Yes. Lovely.
I'm a pirate. I've got a big head. Is that all right like that? Yes.
And... Then the mask? Yeah.
There we go.
Dave, I'm here.
Oh...
You keep fighting, love.
You keep fighting.
You've gotta come back, haven't you?
Oh...
Oh, look at him.
Look at his nose. That's from the CPAP machine, isn't it?
It's healing well though. Yeah.
Which again is a good sign, isn't it?
Yeah. Of course, me and my thinking,
I'm thinking this is going to make him fight even harder.
He's fighting now, but this is going to make him fight even harder.
Look at his little tiny legs.
But his infection's down.
Come on, babe.
Fishing season's started.
Do you remember when you took Izzy fishing?
And your fishing chair broke, and you ended up on your back
holding your fishing rod?
And we did laugh.
Can I try and hold it? Yeah.
Take a photo of her.
You've got to try and put your hand out the front where my hand is.
Hand at the front. Yeah, that's it.
That's it. That's it.
He's gonna do it. He's gonna do it.
Dave, I'll see you later.
We love you, Dad. Love you.
You do wonder if Covid patients were allowed access
in a more physical way
to their families and vice versa, if...
..that emotional support that they get
then spurs them on a little bit more...
..a little bit more than medicine can.
You know, love's a funny thing, isn't it?
And it can make you fight for things that little bit harder.
It's not a measurable science, is it, unconditional love?
But there's definitely a value to it.
FAINT CHATTERING
Thank you so much.
FAINT: Sama?
Are you OK?
Luckiest man.
This is a man with a good wife.
And I'm lucky to have this woman.
I didn't even know that I was...
..I was told that I've been here over four months.
I would have lost my kids...
..but here I am.
No cry, Daddy. It's OK.
We've got three kids.
They're so lovely.
I can't wait to see them.
I can't wait to see them. Yeah.
Eat.
He's very lucky to be here.
He was in what we call multi-organ failure.
They did not expect Sama to survive,
so he's very lucky.
And in the last week, he's made remarkable progress.
But 59 days in ITU,
it can take people up to two years to get back to normal.
He's still got a long way to go.
IN SPANISH:
He's still completely dependent on the ventilation.
And now his brain has failed, and he has a brain haemorrhage,
and he's had a stroke.
One of the reasons it's so important
having his step-daughter there is it's a familiar face,
she can speak Spanish, it's a familiar language.
IN ENGLISH:
IN SPANISH:
IN ENGLISH: Today is better than yesterday, yes. Better?
Better than yesterday.
I bring some photos today. This was my mother.
Beautiful. Yes. She passed away two years ago.
Oh, I'm sorry. Yes.
But I think he'll like these photos.
IN SPANISH:
So it's possible that he could get through this
and have significant...consequences.
So, will he be able to, you know, talk?
And he may have memory loss.
He may have a whole number of neurological conditions.
You know, and in that context, it all sounds pretty bleak
but, again...it's impossible to tell at this stage.
IN SPANISH:
Good afternoon, Tobi. My name's Emma.
I'm one of the specialist nurses here. OK.
How are you doing today? I'm fine.
Can I just ask you a couple of questions? OK. OK. Lovely.
Can you tell me where we are? What's this place?
EMMA CHUCKLES
Do you know, we're at King's College Hospital?
Can you see or hear anything that's unusual? No.
Is there anything that's worrying you? No.
Do you like Premier Radio? Yeah.
Shall we put a tune on for you? Yeah.
Would you like to hear some? OK.
It's a Christian radio,
and you can get it on YouTube actually, Katherine.
GOSPEL MUSIC PLAYS
The thing is he's a pastor so he's used to delivering the sermons.
But obviously his whole life is around his faith,
so anything that we can do to keep that going for him... Yeah.
At the end of the day, he's 52.
He's got a lot of future to... Still quite young, isn't he?
Yeah, a lot of life to live out, hasn't he?
The thing about Tobi, he's fluctuated,
so there's times when he's a lot more alert than other times,
other times he's really drowsy,
so it's ongoing delirium.
Prior to admission to hospital, he had no cognitive problems,
and he's developed those acutely, you know, on the back of the Covid.
I think people associate delirium with older people but, of course,
we are seeing a lot more younger patients with delirium,
and it's very distressing,
not just for the patient
but also their families and staff, as well.
You hope it's a temporary sort of impact on the brain,
but I would really hope he's going to go back to...
..some sense of normality.
But I can't...
..I can't say for sure.
We cannot under-estimate the importance of family -
has to, will undoubtedly improve his recovery.
Hello. Oh, see, Tobi?
How are you, my love?
Hello, Dad. How are you, my son?
Doing very well.
How are you feeling, Dad?
I'm doing fine, my son.
I miss you so much.
Yes, my love, I miss you, too.
You've been so strong, Dad. Thank you, son.
You've been so strong this whole time.
Thank you, son.
It really means a lot.
You know, I've finished university now. Mm?
Yeah.
I got a First, as well.
I got my final results. First?
I got a First in my undergraduate.
OK.
What music do you want to hear, Dad?
Shall I play me playing saxophone?
Hmm?
Do you want to hear a song that I produced?
MUSIC PLAYS ON PHONE
TOBI SINGS
THEY SING TOGETHER
I can't believe, to be honest, like, when I go there,
he's still joyful -
the amount of resilience is unreal to me.
When you get to, like, that level of physiological attack,
where your body is trying to get rid of you,
that's when, like, the willpower kicks in.
For my dad to go through something like that for 90 days
and to come out and he's not like, "Oh, it was horrible,"
he doesn't say anything like that at all.
I haven't heard him say anything like that, even once.
It's just mad to me. It's actually mad.
Like, his heart stopped a couple of times, things like that.
However he comes back, he's still my dad. I still love him.
For me, like, the work that he's done already just staying alive
has just showed me so...it's taught me so much about resilience.
It's taught me so much about, like, life, love, family.
Lean yourself forwards.
So April was the last time you were outside? Gosh.
So it's now June.
What would be really nice
is if we can do some more with your shoulders
to try and work on that range of movement
and get the strength around your shoulders going.
And then I think we need to start trying some standing.
He couldn't keep his eyes open when I first saw him.
I saw him the day he stepped down from Intensive Care,
and a lot of our patients have been on Intensive Care
for a long period of time
so you lose a lot of your muscle mass.
You can't just get out of bed and go.
So we're trying to progress people
so that they can get back to their previous lives.
Do you want to show us how you use this?
You can't? Have a go. We can help you with it. Try it.
Good.
Got it. Can you go lower on your back?
Good.
Are you OK? You tired?
Are you all right? Can you look at me?
OK? Yeah.
Just tired? Are you tired?
People have a huge amount of things to rebuild in their lives.
We need to up the availability of rehab in the community,
in out-patient clinics.
There's just going to be so many needs going forward,
that isn't going to be met by the current system.
So, yeah, things will look quite different, I think.
BEEPING
OK.
So, unfortunately, David's just had a deterioration.
There was a blood pressure issue
and also his oxygen levels have dropped.
We're still struggling to put the line in.
Still struggling to put the line in, OK.
This doesn't look like there's any bleeding, right?
I can't see that. What happened suddenly?
INDISTINCT REPLY
Oh, thanks very much.
So, I mean, David had, really, an acutely life-threatening event.
He very quickly, very suddenly dropped his blood pressure
to, really, levels which are not compatible with life.
It's a very complex issue here.
Thank you. All right, just hold on one second...
Yeah, no problem. OK.
QUIET PIANO MUSIC
It's nice that they've got music playing. Yeah, it is, yeah.
Plinky plonky, Dad would call that. Plinky plonky. Yeah.
I know he's really poorly.
I'm not kidding myself.
But we've got hope, OK?
With situations like this,
it's not a case of one big thing...
No. ..going badly wrong.
It's a question of, you know,
lots and lots of little hurdles
which we're not quite clearing. Yes, yeah. You know... OK.
Right.
He's continuing to have problems with his ventilation
because his lungs are very stiff
and they're very badly damaged from the Covid. Right. OK.
And his other organs have not yet,
particularly his kidneys, not yet shown any signs of recovery.
But you've not stopped trying, though, have you?
No, no, we've not stopped trying. And you won't, will you?
And we're not at the point where we will stop trying, OK?
That's all I want to hear. Yeah.
It sounds silly... No, I know.
..and I know it's a long, long road. Yeah.
He's still fighting.
Yeah. Yeah.
And I hope he will keep fighting. Oh, yeah.
If things go well, he's going to be here for a long time... Mm-hm. Yeah.
..and, you know, you'll need to kind of pace yourself
and spread that out. Yeah.
And obviously, if things go badly, then we'll be telling you
and we'll make sure that you can visit. Yeah. OK. All right.
I know what they're trying to say.
They have to prepare you, but...
..I'm not ready to be prepared yet.
Cos he's got fight in him, hasn't he? Yeah.
The hope you get from yourself, you get within,
you get from your family.
And it's hell to live through,
but then when you get a glimmer of hope the next day,
so you start on that all over again.
And you can't imagine life without them, can you?
No, there's things he's got to do.
He's got plans.
We've got plans for him.
My name's Fernando, we're going to take you home.
You're ready to go, yeah? I'm ready to go.
You have all your paperworks, all your medication? Yeah.
Physically, at the moment, I'm tired.
I think I need a long, long, long sleep when I get home.
Today will be one of the most happiest days in my life.
I don't want to cry any more.
I've been crying a lot.
I just want the showers of blessing to flow now.
My dad's going to come home today!
He's going to come home on my birthday,
and it already is my birthday,
so he's going to come home today.
He was in hospital a long time, because he got the coronavirus.
Majidah's birthday today.
I'm going to be there, you know.
Oh, that's the ambulance. See where they go? They are out.
INAUDIBLE
Daddy, it's my birthday today. I know. Daddy knows.
WEAKLY: Hello, guys. How are you?
How are you?
Please...
Go to daddy. Come on, it's OK.
FAINTLY: It's just a matter of time. OK?
Really, really, it's just a matter of time.
You'll bounce back. OK?
Happy birthday. Thank you, Daddy. Did you get the best birthday? Yeah.
I love you guys. TOGETHER: We love you too.
I love you, all of you.
So, Mr Hussey's a 62-year-old gentleman
who was clinically doing OK
for a period of two to three weeks on the ward,
but, unfortunately, there's been deterioration
with multiple organ dysfunction,
so that's where we are.
How's his family?
People have been speaking to them this week,
and they understand he's extremely unwell,
that he's unlikely to survive,
but they remain hopeful, like everybody else.
So they do know how bad the situation is.
So, we'll get the family together and maybe we'll get...
Uh-huh. ..yourself to come along and start having the conversations.
So I think with David,
we are reaching the end of what intensive care can offer him.
All of his vital organs have stopped being able to keep him alive.
Once we recognise that the treatments that we're giving
aren't going to enable him to recover
and that his death is inevitable,
then the choice, really, becomes between what we call a good death,
so a death that his family have some time to prepare for,
versus an uncontrolled death,
which might happen in the middle of the night
with a very sudden deterioration or a cardiac arrest
and no opportunities for them to be with him,
or to say their goodbyes
or to address any of his sort of wider holistic needs,
be they emotional, spiritual or whatever.
Have you got the shroud in here? What's that, sorry?
Have you got the shroud in here?
Right, David, I'm just going to take your blanket off there.
There we go.
Right, David, I'm just going to give you a wee wash, all right?
There we go.
So I've looked after him the last three shifts in a row.
I used to always wash him in the morning.
Right, David, I'm just going to wash the soap off you here.
There we go.
It was really lovely because when he was first admitted
he wasn't intubated or anything.
Yeah. A really nice man.
Right, David, just drying your neck off there,
and your shoulders.
So this is called "last offices".
We just treat them like they were there before, so there's no change.
So we still talk to them, just to show respect.
And I've looked after him so much, I feel like I know him, so...
But a lot of it for us is, because of the intensity of the situation,
it's always life and death,
so you just get to know them really well.
And if they make a recovery,
then it's just a real privilege to be there for that.
And even in death, it's a privilege to be there
because it's the last moment.
I see that as a privilege as well.
Right, David, we're just going to pop your feet in here.
OK. I'm going to lift your head up for a minute, David.
What I'm doing here is recording the names of patients
who have died in this hospital
as a result of the recent Covid-19 pandemic.
I'm used to filling in these memorial books once a year,
but I've been called in specially to do an extra batch
because there has been an enormous surge in names to be recorded.
It does feel important that the names are not forgotten.
It matters to people.
They're not going to wind up carved on a monument somewhere.
These are our people of our streets who died.
I must say it's, um, it's a bit of a shock to my system
to be putting lots and lots of names down on the same day, it is.
It's not the way this has worked for me.
I'm usually working steadily through the whole year,
and there are three or four names a week, maybe.
So that's all a bit different.
Because it's very hot, Tobi,
I'm just giving you a little bit at a time. OK.
Until it cools down properly, OK?
Thank you. You're welcome, Tobi.
Would you like some more? No.
OK.
Tobi has come a long way.
We give him a wash
and feed him with all his meals,
help him with toileting.
That's what we do each and every day,
make sure that he's taken care of.
The Covid had really affected Tobi badly.
But he's with us, and he's alive,
and to the point now where he's planning to go home.
So that's really good news for us.
And he's a nice man.
Tobi is a nice man to take care of.
He is. He is.
We're going to miss him.
Come on, let me clean your mouth.
Let me clean your mouth.
Tobi's been with us for just short of six months in the hospital.
He has survived Covid
but he has been very severely affected by Covid.
He will not fully recover the brain function that he had before this.
We're planning to discharge him with an awful lot of care
and support in the community.
Put you back in bed, yeah? OK.
OK.
So this is your letter of bye-bye to King's College.
Hooray! Tobi, you are free to go.
Thank you. Thank you.
It's been a long journey, the longest journey.
I'm grateful to God.
I will thank God for giving this. Love you.
I love you.
He's a good fighter.
And I can say it's such an emotional period.
Oh, God... SHE CRIES
Love!
I love you, son.
I love you, Dad. I love you, too.
SHE LAUGHS
IN SPANISH:
He has been stuck on this level for a little while.
There's been marginal improvements and gains.
And so, you know, we're all concerned that this may be
the best that he could get to.
He is a bit unique in the sense that
this is really going on for quite some time now.
You know, I suspect he's heading to being one of the longest stays
on Intensive Care in the UK.
UNTRANSLATED
Sorry, I was going to ask, can he sit over there.
He just want to feel some sun a little bit.
Sorry guys. Yeah, thank you.
Just for five minutes.
Yeah, it's been a while. He's not been out, so...
Oh, bless. Let me come out your way, love.
Thank you so much. Just over there.
Sorry guys. No problem, mate. You take care. Everything OK?
Yeah. He's been in hospital for long, for months.
What with, not the virus? Yeah. Really, yeah?
Yeah, I was there for three months. You're a fighter, then, aren't you?
Yeah, he is. Yeah. Yeah, that's it. I wish you all the best.
Thank you very much. He was like on 60 days on vent. Jesus Christ!
You've done really well. Well done, mate. Thank you.
Have a bit of sun to you.
Put it up to your face.
That's it.
Did you shut the door?
You OK? Yeah, thank you.
I'm just so happy to be here, to be alive.
At times it gets into your head and you start being emotional.
Thank you, Maj. You're welcome, Daddy.
Thank you.
I appreciate this, yeah.
I love you. I love you too, Daddy.
She's been looking after me.
You know, they keep me going.
Are you OK? You don't tire? Oh, that's OK.
You enjoy the sun, yeah? Yeah.
I'm 52.
I'm a health care professional.
I'll be back. That's my expectation, to bounce back strongly.
Even stronger than before.
And I believe by next week,
I will be independent, you know?
Yeah.
HE GROANS
UNTRANSLATED
Move back. Hm?
No, wait.
Wait. Gently, gently, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Wait, wait, wait.
Sorry.
Thank you, guys.
Thank you. You look after yourself. Yeah.
We'll be strong, yeah? Yeah.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Come back.
MUSIC: Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan
# Mama, take this badge off of me
# I can't use it any more...#
It never crossed my mind that he wouldn't make it.
He was only 62.
# I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door
# Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door... #
And I do remember asking them...
"Are you telling me you're giving up on my husband?"
But they didn't.
They never gave up on him.
And then we saw him and we were able to be there when he died.
And then when we were ready, they switched the machine off.
And, yeah, he just slipped away.
The hardest day.
Hardest day.
When Covid first come round and we went into lockdown
and we thought it was a made up story, we honestly did.
Now, I've just got to...
..move on without him.
And I've never had that in my life
because we were together for 40 odd years.
Everything I learnt, we learnt together as a couple.
So, yeah...
I'd hate anyone to go through this.
I'd hate it.
Alexa, read the Bible.
Genesis.
Alexa, read Genesis.
ALEXA: In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth...
Or the news!
HE CHUCKLES
My mum, she's, like, shouldered so much of it.
There is the element of it being like,
"Oh, well, it's not the same as before."
That's fairly sad.
But, you know, he's making a lot of development, a lot of strides.
A lot of the time I see him back to himself in many ways.
That's still Dad, like his spirit, his soul.
All right, my love?
# As we gather Lord Jesus
# As we gather may we glorify Your name
# As we gather may we glorify Your name, Jesus
# We will be blessed because we are here. #
Father, I will thank you.
Thank you, Father.
IN SPANISH:
So, the first thing that's striking is he just looks fantastic.
He's been on a ventilator. He's been sedated for months.
You know, it's amazing, really.
It really is incredible.
And what's kind of staggering is that he's talking so lucidly.
He is an extraordinary patient.
I'll never forget him, yeah.
I won't forget him, I hope.
Of course I won't forget him.
SHE LAUGHS
SHE CRIES QUIETLY
We've all learnt about this illness as it's evolved
and he's just remained with us throughout that.
I think there's probably something fairly symbolic for us about that.
The unpredictability remains.
We all hope this sense of unpredictability would end.
We know that there's more to come.
The winter's going to be really hard
and we are starting to see more hospital admissions
and the scale of this is completely unprecedented.
It's frightening.
It's frightening for all of us.
I think we know at some point there's going to be an end to this,
but it's going to be quite hard to define when that is.
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