A man who spent 16 days in an induced coma in an Antrim hospital due to Covid-19 has said he is “one of the lucky ones” to recover and he is very conscious of those who have not been so fortunate.

A man who spent 16 days in an induced coma in an Antrim hospital due to Covid-19 has said he is “one of the lucky ones” to recover and he is very conscious of those who have not been so fortunate. 
43-year-old Niall Murphy, a well-known solicitor in Belfast, was discharged on Monday after being in hospital for nearly four weeks.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Murphy said he is still very weak but thankful he is “healthy and back home” with his wife and children.
He said he could not believe he was in a coma for so long.
Mr Murphy described how symptoms started after returning from a trip to New York in mid-March.
He said he began to feel weak on a Friday evening and the next morning when he woke up he knew something was wrong
With a temperature of over 40 degrees he immediately self-isolated.
“I had never really been sick before. I was bed-ridden for 12 days with no appetite, just eating bowls of fruit as I knew I had to eat something,” he said.
Mr Murphy said he was conscious but his temperature was “uncontrollable”. He explained he did not get a test as testing was “restricted” at that time.
He said at one stage on 24 March he thought he was improving as he felt “a bit better” that day.
However, the next day he felt as though he had “crashed off the edge of a cliff”. 
“I felt I was drowning. I couldn’t breathe. It was just something I had never experienced before,” he said.
He was taken to hospital and he remembers seeing the nurse’s face when she tested his oxygen levels.
He was put on a ventilator within a few hours of being admitted.
Mr Murphy said he was “inspired with confidence” the minute he went through the doors of the Antrim Area Hospital and said his wife was provided with daily updates on his condition.
He said they had to be honest with her and one particular night outlined the risks he faced.
“She was told it was 50/50 whether I would make it through.”
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He said his wife and children bore the illness heavier than he did.
He said he has a good memory of coming out of ICU but the recovery was a process that he was not aware would be so tedious.
“When they wean you off the support medication, you sort of come around slightly.”
He said during his time in recovery, taking three steps felt like “running a marathon.”
“I couldn’t even cut a piece of toast. I was spoon fed for two or three days.”
It was a case of taking a few steps a day “and we got there”.
He said he vividly remembered from his time in hospital fighting the infection, the nurses holding his hand and giving him assurances.
“I can’t be thankful enough for the care that I received.”