A 76-year-old grandfather was welcomed home with rapturous applause after beating coronavirus.
Mike Wilmott, of Long Ashton, was greeted by up to 70 residents from Parsonage and Glebe Road when he returned home after being discharged from Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) on Saturday morning.
He spent more than two months – 67 days – at the BRI and 58 of those were in the intensive care unit (ICU) where he was placed in a medically-induced coma to give him the best chance of fighting Covid-19.
Since the weekend of May 23, Mike has been in rehabilitation learning how to walk again.
Mike and his family want to say a huge thank you to the ‘amazing and dedicated’ hospital staff for returning him home to his loved ones.
His daughter, Joanne Pattemore, said the family has been on an ‘emotional rollercoaster’ since he was diagnosed with coronavirus.
She said: “When we got the call to say he is coming home, I was speechless – I’m definitely glad he’s home.
“Dad had such amazing determination to get through it and just wanted to keep going.
“He is such a positive gentleman and he’s surprised everyone with just how well he has done to beat the virus.
“Our family would like to thank Paul and the residents of Parsonage and Glebe Road for giving dad such a warm welcome home.
“We have such an amazing NHS, and to the dedicated and amazing staff at the BRI and the medical team at ICU, we wish them a very, very big thank you – we think they are all amazing for bringing our dad home to us.”
Mike echoed his daughter’s sentiments and thanked staff at the BRI for taking care of him – enabling him to celebrate his 51st wedding anniversary with his wife Madeline on Sunday.
Madeline, who is the same age as Mike, showed no signs of the virus and has been self-isolating at home since his diagnosis.
Mike’s neighbour, Paul Arnel, who organised the welcome home celebration, said: “There must have been between 60 to 70 people waiting for Mike to return from hospital.
“When we found out he was coming home, we wanted to do something for him to celebrate his return.
“We’re a close-knit community and we try to look after each other.”
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