A GRANDFATHER who battled coronavirus in hospital for three months is firmly on the road to recovery, and says: "I am proof that, even with all the odds against you, it is possible to get through it."

When Ian Cobb was taken into hospital with Covid-19, he asked his wife to tell their children that he loved them, fearing he would never see them again.

As previously reported in the Echo, Mr Cobb was undergoing chemotherapy when he contracted the virus in April.

He suffers from a rare disease called Amyloidosis, which occurs when an abnormal protein called amyloid builds up in organs.

Dorset Echo: Mr Cobb in the ICU unitMr Cobb in the ICU unit

He went on to spend 60 days in Poole Hospital’s intensive care unit before remaining in the hospital for a further month.

Mr Cobb, 49, from Wool, said: “When I went into hospital with Covid, I was resigned to the fact that I was leaving hospital in a box. With my history it just didn’t look likely that I was ever coming out.

“I don’t know how I pulled through but there’s obviously something inside me that just said no, not today.”

He spent much of his 60 days on the ICU in a drug-induced coma, with a ventilator to support his breathing.

Mr Cobb added: “I don’t remember much about the time I spent in the ICU. I remember it wasn’t pleasant being on the ventilator. I couldn’t speak; I could move my mouth but no sound came out.

“The staff were angels, they were phenomenal. They would speak to me, repeating the location, date and time and reiterating that this wasn’t a dream, ‘this is real and you’re safe’.

“From March through to May is incredibly blurry for me. I remember the nurses telling me the date in May and I realised I’d completely missed April.”

Dorset Echo: Mr Cobb enjoying a pint as he begins to get back to normalityMr Cobb enjoying a pint as he begins to get back to normality

Ian returned home to his wife Samantha in June where he received a warm welcome from his daughters and grandchildren.

Since then, his attention has been on rehab and recovery. He is now able to walk by himself for short distances and is beginning to return to some semblance of normality.

“If I’m achieving a little thing every day that still counts. Doctors tell me to take my time, it’s important to understand that it’s not going to be fast process.

“It’s such a positive story when you mention Covid, everyone always talks about the death count, but my situation proved that even with all the odds against you it is possible to get through it.

“Covid is not necessarily the end.”