Mansfield man says 'coronavirus is very real' after shock diagnosis

Fenn Radford, of Mansfield Woodhouse, returned early from the trip with friends in Sauze d’Oulx in Italy due to coronavirus fears.

All five of them took the decision to self-isolate when they returned home.

He began to feel unwell soon after returning to the UK so rang 111 for advice.

Having suffered with asthma for years, he was advised after 45 minutes on the phone to attend Kings Mill hospital to be assessed in their treatment pods as a precaution.

Fenn describes his experience with the virus as ‘scary’ and ‘very real’ and initially assumed he was having a serious asthma attack.

The 23-year-old travelled to Kings Mill and drove into the parking bays as instructed, but was left waiting for some time before he began to struggle with his breathing and his face, hands and feet began to feel numb.

He rang 999 as he began to panic and was eventually met by medical staff in hazmat suits who swabbed him for COVID-19 and assessed his symptoms.

Fenn explains: “They diagnosed me as having a panic attack and sent me back home to self-isolate again with the rest of my group.

“Two days later I got a phone call to say it was actually coronavirus and to stop taking the steroids as they could make the virus stay in my system longer.

“I couldn’t believe it, no wonder I had felt bad.

“Since then I have received calls from numerous health workers who have been really helpful and calmed my anxiety”.

Fenn remains in isolation with his four friends and has had no physical contact with his family but wants people, especially those with asthma, to know that it is much more serious than just a common cold:

“I want to warn you all that it is very real and there are other confirmed cases in Mansfield and the surrounding areas, so please look after yourselves and think about the vulnerable amongst us.

These are the symptoms of coronavirus and what you should do if you are concerned.