Despite the endless rain, face masks, hand sanitising and worry, one man is smiling from ear-to-ear – celebrating the gift of life this Christmas.

At the outbreak of Covid-19, Andrew Wilkinson was one of those caught off-guard by the symptoms.

Despite being breathless, exhausted and weak, the 37-year-old convinced himself he was fine.

But after his concerned wife Nicola called 111, an ambulance was sent to the couple’s Whitehaven home, and Andrew was taken to West Cumberland Hospital – where he was told immediately that he was being put into an induced coma.

With coronavirus already claiming hundreds of lives across the country, it was a moment Andrew is “glad to forget”.

“It was terrifying, and I’m glad I can’t remember anything else after that moment,” the electrical engineer said.

“At this time, there were hardly any survivor stories, just people dying.

“The hospital called Nicola for me, and I honestly thought it was my last 10 minutes speaking to my wife.”

After six days in a coma and on a ventilator, Andrew’s first moments awake again were ones of confusion, relief and support.

He said: “The hospital staff were amazing – absolutely amazing.

“I obviously didn’t know where I was or what was happening, because you’re in a bit of a daze when you’ve been in a coma, but I was surrounded by nurses telling me I was safe and going to be okay, and that was such a boost.”

Once awake, Andrew could begin work on his strength-building – a vital but “quite scary” part of his recovery after being in a coma.

He said: “A nurse called Jess helped me with my strength and walking and everything, and she was just a superstar.

“On day one I couldn’t even sit up, and by the end of day two she had me walking, eating and drinking.”

He added: “I remember drinking some juice that she gave me, and it was the first drink I’d had in two weeks. I just remember thinking it was the best drink I’ve had in my life – I kept thinking, ‘this is better than any beer could be’!”

And while he still faces difficulties with his breathing and strength every day, having been diagnosed with “long Covid”, Andrew is back to work full-time – and is thankful for every challenge life throws at him.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m not fully recovered, because I’m alive,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s raining, if work is stressful, or anything – I’m smiling through it all, because I have my life, and it’s all down to the amazing, brilliant doctors and nurses.”

He continued: “I can’t thank them enough – I will never be able to thank them enough.

“It was little things, like them putting a radio by my bed so I could listen to music, or two nurses coming in to sing The Lion King song to me.

“For those few minutes, everything was alright again, and I’m just so, so grateful.”

He added: “Now I’m just looking forward to hopefully getting to Florida next year in October to celebrate being alive!”

After such a “terrifying” experience, Andrew hopes everyone follows the government guidance, and does their bit to protect themselves and others.

He said: “Everybody needs to look after themselves, because that helps protect everyone else as well.

“Wear your mask as much as possible, and don’t go out unless you absolutely need to – nobody wants to be left in a hospital bed on their own with Covid for two weeks.”

And it’s not just Andrew with a grin on his face, as his story is one that those caring for him will never forget.

Mark Holliday, consultant anaesthetist at NCIC, said: “During the last year, the Intensive Care team and staff from other areas of the hospital have worked incredibly hard in often difficult circumstances to care for some of the sickest patients in the hospital.

“A story like Andrew’s makes us all feel that there is some light and happiness to take from these difficult times.

“We all wish Andrew well in the future, and hope that with the vaccination programme there will be fewer people who need to go through the experience that he did.”

Lisa Skillen, Intensive Therapy Unit sister at WCH, said: “We are all delighted to hear that Andrew continues to make a good recovery and has returned to work.

“We are very proud of the work we do as a team and hearing from people like Andrew means a lot.

“We would like to thank him for his kind words and generosity, and wish Andrew and his family a very Merry Christmas.”

Mark Cannan, advanced critical care practitioner in the Intensive Care Unit at WCH, said: “I was on duty and remember the day Andrew was admitted to intensive care.

“It was early on in the pandemic, when all we were seeing on the news the worldwide devastation this disease was causing.

“Andrew’s oxygen levels were really low and the only thing we could do was to put Andrew into an induced coma, on to a ventilator and immediately flip Andrew on to his front in an attempt to improve the oxygen levels.

“It was after a few days that we began to see Andrew improve clinically, before he was transferred to Carlisle intensive care. I can remember seeing Andrew’s video of him leaving ITU, and watching it with a smile.

“It really is fantastic to hear of Andrew doing so well now, and wish him and his wife Nicola a very Merry Christmas.”