Stephen (right) pictured with son, Daniel
“Without overdramatising the situation, both me and my loved ones thought I might not be coming back.” That was 23 November 2020, when Stephen was admitted to Glenfield Hospital. Just ten days later, the 61-year-old was reunited with his family. He knows that he is one of the fortunate ones.”
– Stephen Gannon
COVID-19 diagnosis
Since his retirement, Stephen has been working with his son, Dan, dealing in specialist cars and motorbikes.
Stephen first started experiencing symptoms of COVID on 14 November. He describes feeling incredibly tired with a slight loss of taste and a mild temperature, but “by mid-week I had no appetite and stopped eating.”
He went for a COVID test on 18 November and the day after was confirmed positive.
Worsening symptoms
As his symptoms worsened, Stephen’s family called NHS111. He was told to take his asthma medication and call back if symptoms didn’t change.
He recalls: “I was on my side trying to breathe, slow breathes, it certainly felt very tight. I went to have a bath but – and perhaps it was the change in temperature – I just found it very difficult to get out. The effort to get out of the bath and the walk from the bath to the bedroom was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, consuming all my energy. I didn’t want to panic the household but knew I was very sick.”
The family called NHS111 again. They sent an ambulance immediately. He added: “By the time they got to me my oxygen saturation levels were at 87 per cent.” That’s about ten per cent below a healthy level.
Stephen was admitted to Glenfield Hospital on 23 November with COVID-pneumonia, where an x-ray confirmed that the virus had quite severely affected his lungs. He was allocated a CPAP mask as part of the RECOVERY-RS trial that continuously pushes an oxygen-air mixture into the airways to support breathing.
He said: “Without overdramatising the situation, both me and my loved ones thought I might not be coming back. No one said as much, but we have spoken since and we all had the same fear.”
His son and business partner, Daniel Gannon, concurs: “At the point he was taken into hospital, we were extremely worried that we weren’t going to see him again. He’s had chest infections in the past, so the idea that COVID was on his lungs was pretty terrifying.”
Research programmes
Stephen was recruited into the RECOVERY trial that is investigating new treatments for COVID-19. He was randomly assigned to receive convalescent plasma as part of the trial. This treatment involves one or two infusions of blood plasma containing COVID antibodies. These units of plasma are donated by people who have recovered from COVID infection in previous months.
Thanks to people like Stephen, there is now enough evidence to show that convalescent plasma does not make a big difference in treating patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Despite this, he was able to benefit from earlier findings from the RECOVERY trial. He was treated with dexamethasone, a steroid tablet that is now an established treatment for severe COVID-19 based on data collected earlier in the trial.
Stephen also received aspirin treatment as part of the trial. Aspirin is a well-known painkiller and is used to thin the blood in conditions like heart disease. COVID-19 makes the blood sticky and increases the risk of clots forming, and aspirin might have important effects in protecting from this. The trial team are still collecting information and can’t yet say whether aspirin should be given to everyone.
He said: “Clearly if research leads to the fact that steroids were given that saved my life, then it’s vital. I agreed to every study they offered! In my view, I’ve gone in and I’m in a serious situation, so why not?
“The team at Glenfield were super-human in their efforts, they really were amazing. Even though I was very ill, it was fantastic to see them working.”
Daniel agrees. He said: “Families in a similar situation to us should carefully consider the opportunities available through clinical trials for their loved ones. I think the level of care and expertise in the NHS is astounding. I wouldn’t have wanted him in any other care system in the world.”
The road to recovery
Thankfully for Stephen, just ten days later he was reunited with his family – fiancée Cathy, and children, Daniel and Leonie. He knows that he is one of the fortunate ones. But it wasn’t plain sailing and Stephen continues to experience some symptoms.
He said: “When you come out of hospital you’re not fixed. You’re on this journey. There were a number of times I woke in the night and could hardly feel my breath on my hand. It was really scary on nights like that. Thankfully, they seem to have passed.
While Stephen struggled to walk more than a mile when he was first discharged from hospital, in just under two months he could walk for three hours at a time.
“I’m 60 per cent of what I was. Before COVID I could cycle 70-80 miles in a day. Now I couldn’t think about getting on my bicycle because I just don’t think I’ve got the capacity to cycle up a hill.”
Stephen will now take part in the PHOSP-COVID study, a national programme led by Leicester that looks at the long-term effects of COVID-19 on patients who were hospitalised with the disease.
Reflections
Stephen is glad to be alive and puts that down to the ‘super-human’ Glenfield team, close family support, his determination and previous good health: “The doctor remarked on my good health, such as my resting heart rate of 42 beats per minute. I think they were pretty amazed. What I had learnt with having asthma, above all else, is that exercise and staying as healthy as you can help you overcome disease. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll recover, but you are giving yourself the best chance of recovering.”
