A 31-year-old man who was rushed to hospital two days after first displaying symptoms of Covid-19 has said he “couldn’t believe how quickly it affected me”.

William Haskins admitted the whole experience was “terrifying” especially how he “went from perfectly fine on Saturday morning to in hospital on the Monday night”.

William lives in Enniskillen and told The Impartial Reporter how his condition rapidly deteriorated after his diagnosis of Covid-19. He said: “I have no underlying health issues so that’s why the situation was scary for me. I genuinely was terrified on that Monday night.”

William who has no respiratory conditions then detailed his experience of being hospitalised with Covid-19. William first began to feel unwell on January 23 and having suspected he had Covid symptoms went for a test, he received his positive test on January 24.

Within 24 hours his condition quickly worsened and he was then to spend four days in the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH).

“I was lucky as one of my relatives had given me an oxidizer to check my blood oxygen levels and it was in the low 80s and at that point I thought to myself, I need to ring an ambulance. Something is not right here.”

William revealed he was given the oxidizer by family “just in case” as he lives alone. William was given oxygen by the ambulance as soon as they arrived.

The next morning, he was sent for a CT scan and X-Rays. William was then put on a machine which fed his body oxygen and moisturiser.

The team at the SWAH began his treatment with 15 litres of oxygen a day and then reduced it down to zero litres from the machine. This was considered the second stage of oxygen support with the next level being treatment on a ventilator in ICU.

William’s family had been worried about him. He said: “I know my family had been really worried about me because you do hear the stories of people who go in and never come out again. So they were very glad I had my phone with me and was able to keep them updated.”

William was supported by the visitation of staff to explain his treatment. He said: “They had people coming in to talk to you and giving you breathing exercises to do and I spent all day doing them.”

Willam is unsure how he came in contact with the virus as he has been “very strict” with the guidelines and only formed a bubble with the family. He works in a retail environment and presumes that is where he contracted the virus. He added: “It’s strange because I lasted so long without anything from it but I know there are new variants going around which may affect people differently.”

William wished to address to young people directly. He said: “Follow the guidelines. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. The majority of people will end up with just a fever, a loss of taste or just a head- ache but there is the potential for it to be so much worse.

“If people do find themselves in the situation where they have coronavirus and a shortness of breath, don’t hesitate to call for help.”

William praised the staff at the SWAH for all of their care and support. He said: “I can’t thank them enough for everything they did when I was up there. They are so fantastic even though they are very stressed and overworked [due to the pandemic.].