Children's author shares his experience of battling Covid-19 in harrowing account

Successful children’s author and educational pioneer Neil Griffiths is recovering at home after contracting the Covid-19 virus.

Here he shares his experience of his battle against the disease:

“It has been a long and slow process - I’m back to about 80% health, but it has not been easy. It was a hugely frightening experience.”

Neil, a 62-year-old former headteacher of Westlea Primary School, explained that he had been delivering some training in London and suspects that he may have come into contact with the virus during this visit.

“I quickly became aware that something was very wrong. I had this cough and my whole system was up the spout, I had a temperature which made it impossible to sleep. But the worst thing was that I found that I had to concentrate on breathing - it’s obviously something that you do automatically, but I found that I was aware of each breath I took in and found that I would be gasping for air.

“I live on my own, and while I tried to put a brave face on things, after a week I found that it got to the point where I knew I was in trouble and called for an ambulance.”

Minutes later, emergency crews were outside Neil’s home in Purton Stoke.

“It was like something from out of a movie - they were shining a bright light down my driveway and the ambulance crews were wearing all their protective equipment - they were amazing, they carried out various tests before taking me to the Shalbourne Suite which was being used as a reception area for patients suspected of having contracted Covid-19.” 

After taking x-rays, medics found that he was suffering from pneumonia but had to wait to see if the swabs they took showed that Neil had contracted the virus.

“It was so frightening - I’m overweight, diabetic and I’ve got a vitamin B12 deficiency - so these factors were against me. I had a lot of pain in my guts and oesophagus and my skin became so sensitive that I could not bear to have the bed sheets over me. I admit I cried quite a few times."

Neil explained that, as many others who have contracted the disease have found, the virus affected his sense of taste: “I had no taste or smell, just this horrible metallic taste in my mouth.”

“But when I was in Great Western Hospital I had no idea of just how dangerous this virus was. If someone had told me that a high proportion of patients who are admitted with the virus don’t survive I would have been terrified.”

Test results confirmed that Neil was positive for the disease. 

“There were three nurses who broke the news to me - it was a very emotional time, I tried to be brave but it really affected me mentally. I was one of the first people to be diagnosed with the disease in Swindon.”

Neil spent a total of two weeks under the expert care of medics at Great Western Hospital - supported by extra oxygen to assist with his breathing. 

And thanks to the excellent treatment he received, his health began to show signs of slow recovery rand he was allowed to continue his recovery at home.

“I just want to praise the staff at GWH and also at Purton Surgery; I just can’t say how great they are, they have all been amazing. I have been left with a sense of guilt, there’s no reason why I should have survived this when others don’t.”

Neil has been slowly getting back to health, exercising every day in the fields around his home.  

“It has been one of two pivotal points in my life - the other was 20 years ago when my partner died - at which time it made me determined to live my life in the way that he would have wanted me to.

“So many people have sent me kind messages of support; it made me realise how many people you are involved with as you go through life. I’m so grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful people. I’m more determined than ever to make the most of life!” 
 

Neil Griffiths was a Primary School headteacher for 13 years before taking on the role of director of a National Literacy Project for the Basic Skills Agency. The agency believed in Neil’s highly original Storysack idea and allowed him to promote it to schools and communities throughout the UK.  

Many publishers and institutions have asked Neil to contribute his wealth of experience to their projects over the years – his knowledge of learning, his gift of story, his passion for teaching, and his love of children – helping them to produce prized resources and to achieve success in the highly competitive educational market. He has created award-winning play resources, written a nursery curriculum, a best-selling resource book on creative play for Nelson Thornes Publishers, and imaginative material for the Early Learning Centre. He has developed a scheme for supporting English as an additional language for Harcourt Publishing and has consulted for a highly successful toy manufacturer.

 Neil also finds time to write his own children’s picture books, published exclusively by Red Robin Books.