Family’s gratitude to hospital teams who saved father’s life after he contracted Covid-19

Donal Bradley received a rapturous welcome as he arrived home on Good Friday, with friends and neighbours cheering and applauding - all while ensuring social distancing.

A video of his welcome home has had thousands of views and ‘gone viral’ nationally and internationally.

The 65-year-old driving instructor spent 13 days in Intensive Care at Letterkenny University Hospital and Galway University Hospital after contracting the virus.

His daughter Julie said her father, who has no underlying conditions, thought he might have caught a cold when he began to feel unwell around Mother’s Day. However, within a couple of days, his condition worsened and he had an extremely high temperature.

Julie, who lives in Glasgow, decided on the Friday to travel home and arrived in Donegal on the Saturday morning. She said she got a shock when she saw her father, who was ‘grey’ in colour. A coronavirus test had been organised for the Saturday and Donal also had a letter from his doctor for a respiratory assessment. He decided he would have the two in the one day and Julie and her mother, Denise took him to Letterkenny on the Saturday morning. He was able to walk into the hospital. Around 40 minutes later, he rang Julie and Denise to say he had pneumonia in one lung and was being admitted.

A short time later, a doctor rang and told them Donal was being admitted to ICU and may need to go on a ventilator. Donal ‘struggled through’ until the Sunday night, when he was ventilated. He was later transferred to Galway, where he remained on the ventilator for a week.

Julie described that time as ‘surreal’ and a nightmare, made worse as the family - she is eldest of six - could not be by his side. But,they were bolstered by the ‘amazing’ support of the local community, who said prayers, offered their help and rang and texted.

Julie rang the hospital at set times every day and last Sunday, during one of her regular calls, received the ‘incredible’ news her father had been taken off the ventilator and was doing well. She said they feel ‘so lucky’ to now have him home and revealed he was overwhelmed with the support he received from the community in Burwood as he returned.

“He was in tears as soon as he turned the corner.”

Julie said she hoped her father’s recovery brought a much neded boost to everyone in the community and said her family’s thoughts are with all those who are currently ill.

Julie and her family expressed their gratitude to the ‘wonderful’ doctors and nurses in Letterkenny and Galway and said they had no doubt their hard work and dedication had saved her father’s life.

“There were teams of people doing their very best for them. They told us there was no cure for it, but they would do all they could for him and they did. How could you not be grateful to them?- they saved his life.”

Julie said her father has no underlying conditions and it is thought the fact he is relatively fit and healthy and is a non-smoker helped with his recovery.

She revealed how her parents and some of the family were due to go on a cruise in June, which has now been cancelled. ‘But, as long as daddy is home, that’s all that matters.’

Donal is still weak and tired but isglad to be recovering at home.