THE family of a Herefordshire man who survived coronavirus were told several times he had only 24 hours to live.

Robin Jones, known as Ginger, tested positive for Covid-19 in Hereford County Hospital on March 18 and then spent 10 weeks fighting for his life.

His daughter Polly Jones, 51, said receiving calls from hospital to expect the worst was incredibly difficult.

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“I had to ring 999 for my father who had abdominal pain. He was taken in and had emergency surgery, but once he was in there he tested positive for Covid-19,” she said.

“He was in there 10 weeks and several times we were rang by the doctors that he only had 24 hours to live because he was that poorly, and he was that poorly.

“We weren’t able to go and visit him. He went to a respiratory ward as he had pneumonia, again we were told he wasn’t going to make it. But he did make it through.

“The hospital were really good, they messaged us four times a day. They were accommodating to the fact we couldn’t see him.”

Mr Jones, 79, was born in Dilwyn and worked as a builder in Herefordshire, but he thought he was never going to return home to Leominster.

“He was bedridden and he’s had to go through physio to regain his strength,” his daughter added. “He remembers the infection control nurse going to check him, and he remembers those names because they would sit there and talk to him.

“He had nobody, he was lonely and he felt he wasn’t going to come home. He cried the day he came home.

“He just broke down because he thought he was never going to see his home again.”

To say thank you for the nurses who gave “exceptional” care, Mr Jones has been raising money to help those affected by coronavirus, including for funeral costs for people who have lost loved ones.

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