Coronavirus patient needed toe amputated to save his leg due to virus

A coronavirus patient with just 20 per cent chance of survival was lucky to keep his leg after contracting infection

The painter called NHS 24 and was told to go to hospital, where he tested positive for the coronavirus

A coronavirus patient told how he needed a toe amputated due to the killer bug - and was lucky to keep his leg.

Tommy Biggins, 51, spent two months self-isolating at home as underlying health conditions including asthma and type 2 diabete made him at risk.

He didn't leave his house for ten weeks, even to go in the garden, but began feeling unwell including shivering, a cough and a bit of a temperature - but due to the precautions he had taken never imagined it would be coronavirus.

Tommy was lucky to keep his leg

But the painter called NHS 24 and was told to go to hospital, where he tested positive - and described the experience as like the TV show Breaking Bad.

Dad-of-two Tommy said: "It was like something out of Breaking Bad with everyone in all the yellow suits.

"It was a ward specifically for Covid-19 patients.

"There was a notice on the door saying 'do not enter without PPE' - it was all quite frightening.

"They tested me at around 1am, and they told me the next day that it came back positive.

"The pain I was in was unbelievable - I felt like I was breathing in fire. It's a pain you can't explain.

"I had 100 things going on at the same time. I was thinking, 'Is this a heart attack?' My anxiety went through the roof.

"I never saw anyone's face - it's a frightening environment.

"They even asked me my religion in case I died so I was thinking, 'Am I ever going to get out of here?'"

Medics gave him only a 20 per cent chance of survival, but whilst in hospital, doctors discovered an infection in Tommy's foot which resulted in him having to get his toe amputated - while wide awake.

He said: "The surgeon said to me, 'I'm going to need to take your toe off to save your foot'.

"They took me down to the operating theatre, but I couldn't get knocked out because due to Covid I couldn't have a tube down my throat.

"Because Covid attacked my immune system the infection was able to take hold very quickly.

"If I never went into hospital I might have lost my leg as they wouldn't have traced the infection so quickly."

His wife, Karen, 51, and son Sam, had to quarantine for 14 days after being in contact with him.

Tommy was tested a second time for Covid-19 with the results coming back negative after 12 days, during which time he only saw his wife for 20 minutes at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

He was determined to walk out of the hospital doors and did so with a crutch, after initially being offered a wheelchair.

And even at home in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, he had to stay apart from his family until their quarantine ended.

Tommy said: "I didn't actually realise how bad I was, but as soon as you can go home, they want you out of there because your mental health is suffering.

"One of the main things is the loneliness - the only people you're seeing are hospital staff, so your mental health is impacted from it too."

He went in on May 30 weighing 16 stone 8lbs - and left 12 days later on June 11 weighing 14 stone.

Tommy said he was still living with post-viral fatigue and thanked medics for saving his life.

He said: "You feel tired - at the moment I'm always tired. I can't get ready in the morning without feeling breathless. You couldn't fault them.

"I don't have enough praise for the staff. I tried to get flowers sent in but it wasn't allowed in case they are contaminated.

"They're your best pals in there."