Joy as Leighton walks out of the Alex after beating coronavirus - The Redditch Standard

Joy as Leighton walks out of the Alex after beating coronavirus

Redditch Editorial 7th Jul, 2020 Updated: 7th Jul, 2020   0

THERE was joy at the Alexandra Hospital when Redditch patient Leighton Webster finally walked out of the Woodrow Drive hospital after 75 days fighting Covid-19 to see his children for the first time in nearly three months!

Leighton, who works in Bromsgrove, was rushed to hospital back in April and spent more than six weeks in a coma.

He didn’t come out of intensive care until June 18 but is now well enough to go home to his family.

At the time his dad Barry told the Standard: My son’s lungs had completely collapsed – it was touch and go for a long time with numerous close calls.”




On one occasion, the head consultant of intensive care phoned Leighton’s family explaining that he was not going to make it through the night.

Barry encouraged Leighton’s wife, Emma, who he describes as being ‘incredibly strong throughout’, to go say goodbye to her husband while he stayed behind and looked after their three children.


Barry said: “The staff at the hospital put protective equipment on Emma, including a face mask and visor, so that she could speak with him one last time.

“She was blown away by how ill he looked. All she could do was tell him how loved he is and how much he was needed at home.

“We don’t know how much of that conversation he actually heard but from that moment on it was a like a switch had been turned on.”

Over the coming days and weeks Leighton amazed both his family and the hospital staff with how much his condition improved.

It was the first time his family had anything positive to celebrate, a far cry away from the constant decline his health had shown in previous weeks.

Leighton’s oxygen levels had began to show huge signs of improvement, leading to him finally walking out of the Alex.

Matthew Hopkins, Trust chief executive said: “Our staff across all our hospitals are doing a magnificent job in working to put patients first through one of the most challenging periods in the history of the NHS.

“This includes frontline staff working under tremendous pressure looking after coronavirus patients and also those working tirelessly behind the scenes to support them.

“We are delighted that Leighton has improved enough that he has now been safely discharged home to be reunited with his family. His progress is a huge morale boost for our staff who are working day in day out to provide the best possible care for our patients.”

“It is important that local people do everything they can to reduce the pressure on our hospitals by following the latest social distancing guidance and maintaining scrupulous hand hygiene.”

For the emotional video of Leighton leaving the Alex click https://youtu.be/gH5uBJbf9ME

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