Blackpool dad, 30, fighting for life against Covid-19 in ICU

Adam Fishwick, 30, a self-employed service engineer from Knowsley Avenue, Blackpool, was taken to the Vic by ambulance on January 7 when his Covid symptoms became severe.

This was the last time his partner Hayley Sharples, 28, and children Owen, six and Olivia, four, saw him in person.

Adam has remained on the Vic's ICU ward since being admitted, spending his 30th birthday on a ventilator without his family.

A fundraiser for Hayley, Owen and Olivia has now been set up for them by Hayley's sister, Jemma Berry, to help the family cope with the financial pressures of losing Adam's income.

Hayley, a care assistant at Hollins Bank Care Home on Lytham Road in South Shore, also tested positive for the virus after feeling unwell on Boxing Day.

She explained how if she had not tested positive, she would have thought it was "just a bad cold" as her symptoms were mild.

"It's a bit baffling where we picked [it] up from really, I wear full PPE at work and Adam is in and out of people's houses so he also wears full PPE," she said.

"I had all the symptoms they say aren't symptoms - a sore throat, a blocked nose, I was just cold and felt really poorly on Boxing Day.

"The next day I started to lose my taste and my smell, and the day after that I had a temperature, so I went for a test. But I started to feel alright.

"Adam went to get a test done on December 30. He was fine though, he had no symptoms, just a mild cough a few days later. We thought he was in the clear and wasn't going to have many symptoms.

"He felt a bit unwell a few days before going to hospital, but still no real symptoms. But the night before I rang an ambulance he was acting really strangely.

"The next morning, he was just grey, he looked grey. He got up and nearly collapsed because he couldn't breathe, it came on that suddenly.

"Adam doesn't have asthma or any other underlying health conditions like that, but the doctors have told me the virus tends to be worse in males with a higher BMI (body mass index)."

Hayley rang an ambulance on the morning of January 7, and Adam was taken alone to a Covid ward in the Vic, where medics tried using different types of oxygen masks to build up his levels.

After around two hours, he was moved to the intensive care unit (ICU), to a CPAP machine.

But a few days later, on January 12, Adam was put on a ventilator and put to sleep to help his body fight the virus.

"They said at that point they didn't want to waste any time, because it could get to a point where he was too far past being able to be put on a ventilator," Hayley continued.

"For the first three days when he went on the ventilator, he was fully asleep, because they had to keep turning him from front to back.

"The first time we spoke to him was a couple of days after that, when a nurse video called us. That was the first time we saw him awake. He was drowsy, but able to wave and blow kisses to me and Owen.

"Just to be able to see him awake was nice, because when he went to sleep he was absolutely terrified, he didn't know whether he was going to wake up.

"Last Saturday, he took a turn for the worse and his oxygen levels went back up. Covid is still affecting his lungs, so he's been under full sedation and fully ventilated since then.

"As of yesterday, he started to improve. He was able to stay on his back for longer periods of time. He's back on the right track, but it's going to be a long road ahead.

"He's on kidney dialysis now because his kidneys were starting to drift, and he's on nitric oxide to help his body absorb the oxygen.

"Owen is six, so he knows what's going on, Olivia is only four but she tells me she misses her Daddy. We just all miss him like crazy.

"Owen's school Hawes Side have been amazing and really supportive through this as well."

Jemma Berry, Hayley's sister, said she had set up a fundraiser for the family to alleviate the financial pressure of losing Adam's income.

"We just want Hayley to have one less thing to worry about," Jemma said.

"You never think it will happen to you. I didn't even wear a mask until this happened, I didn't believe the masks actually worked - but it's been a big wake-up call and I'm doing it now.

"What I'd say now is, are you willing to take that risk, what if it was someone you loved?"

Over £2,000 has been raised for Adam's family so far - you can donate to the fundraiser here.