Coronavirus: Dad who survived Covid-19 thanks trainee doctor son

A father who survived coronavirus says his life was saved by his trainee doctor son who called for help after realising how ill he had become.

Bipin Parekh, 49, says he was at first urged to try to recover at home after calling the NHS 111 helpline.

But son Devershi, who is studying medicine in Manchester, persuaded medics to act after listening to his father's "crackling" chest.

Mr Parekh is now recovering at home after a period spent on a ventilator.

The married father of two said: "I had tears in my eyes when I saw my son again. It was very emotional.

"I just couldn't believe it. It was like nothing I've experienced before. I was screaming in pain at times. I saw people who had passed away.

"My son saved my life. He checked my blood pressure, chest and temperature daily.

"When there was crackling in my chest he phoned the GP surgery, who called an ambulance.

"I'm glad he chose medicine. I was tested for Covid in the ambulance and by midnight I'd tested positive."

The restaurant manager said he owed just as much gratitude to the NHS staff who treated him at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, north-west London.

"The nurses and doctors are people from heaven. They were fantastic," he said.

"After 13 days I was allowed to go home and the nurses clapped me as I left.

"The doctors said I was lucky to survive. If I hadn't gone in when I did, I wouldn't have made it."

Devershi Parekh is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Manchester, and is attached to Royal Preston Hospital.

The 24-year-old said he was grateful for his father's comments but "it was really the doctors and nurses who looked after him".

"I wouldn't want to take anything away from them," he said.

"I'm just relieved I listened to his chest when I did. They said if it had been a day later, he wouldn't have survived. I knew how serious it was but I didn't want my family to be worried.

"When I saw him again I was really emotional because I never thought I'd see him again.

"I'm religious so I believe everything happens for a reason. I could easily have stayed up in the north and I wouldn't have been at home."