British couple thank medical staff for saving lives from COVID-19

The British couple present a book telling their COVID-19 treatment in Vietnam to doctors and nurses at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Hanoi (VNA) – A British couple have returned to Vietnam to thank medical workers who saved them from COVID-19.

Nurse Shan Coralie Barker and her husband Dixong John Garth visited the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi on March 8 where Banker presented the doctors and nurses with a book titled “ A Diverse Nurse, Thanks Vietnam- A story of life, laughter, loss and love”. The book is about Barker and her husband’s trip to Vietnam three years ago, how they contracted the coronavirus and how their lives were saved.

Barker said that the hospital was their first stopover during their second trip to Vietnam.

They decided to return to the hospital to thank doctors for treating them three years ago.

A 100-page book tells the couple’s journey when they caught COVID-19 while on a flight from London to Hanoi and how they got treated. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

The British couple came to visit their son in Vietnam from the UK at the beginning of March 2020. Unfortunately, they tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 before they could meet him.

The couple was immediately quarantined and hospitalised for COVID-19 treatment.

Barker recovered from the disease, but her husband suffered respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation.

The 74-year-old patient had a 10-year history of blood cancer, and treating him was not easy. However, he finally won the battle after more than a month in hospital.

On March 22, he needed breathing support and on March 27, he was put on a ventilator and moved to the intensive care unit.

Ten days later, doctors from the hospital and Vietnam's leading resuscitation experts met to monitor his condition. They made many adjustments to the treatment regimen to find what worked best for him.

By April 5, Garth was off the ventilator and on his way to recovery. On April 13, he tested negative for the fourth time and was deemed fully recovered.

On the night of April 13, 2020, the British patient was discharged from the hospital. They boarded a flight back home at dawn on April 14, 2020.

On their second visit to Vietnam, the couple wanted to come back to the country to thank doctors and nurses and visit the scenic spots they missed in 2020.

Barker said that she was very happy to meet the people who treated me because at that time, they didn't know who they were or what they looked like, as they were all covered by protective clothing and face masks.

Shan Coralie Barker and her husband while receiving treatment in Hanoi in 2020 (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Barker, who is also a nurse, recalled that she was "shocked" to discover that her husband was completely bald. Then, she talked to the doctor so she could see him, adding that she was so grateful for the efforts of the doctors and nurses there.

“This book is dedicated to all the hard-working people within the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, with love and thank for all their amazing care”, Barker wrote in the book’s preface./.