John Dixon and his wife Shan Ellison Barker visit Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on March 8
In late March 2020, they were two of the passengers on a flight from the UK to visit their son in Vietnam.
Unfortunately, they tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus before they could meet him. Among the first Covid-19 patients reported in Vietnam, they were both transferred to National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi for treatment.
Despite suffering some serious symptoms including breathing difficulties, bad coughs, and pneumonia, Shan recovered from the disease after some days of intensive treatment, but her husband suffered from respiratory failure and required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). He, who has a 10-year history of blood cancer had to fight for his life and finally won the battle after more than a month in hospital.
John during the time receiving Covid-19 treatment in Hanoi in 2020
John was discharged from hospital on April 13, 2020, and the couple flew directly to their hometown in the UK the following day.
During their visit to the hospital on Wednesday, the couple gave the doctors and nurses a book of more than 100 pages about their own journey during the time when they were in hospital and saved by Vietnamese doctors and nurses.
The book, A Story of Life, Laughter, Loss and Love, was written by the British couple
The book, A Story of Life, Laughter, Loss and Love, was written by the British couple and donated to doctors and nurses.
"We are very grateful to the Vietnamese doctors and nurses here for saving our lives," John said. "So we decided to return and express our sincere thanks to our heroes. Until now we can see their faces more clearly and talk with them more closely without having to wear face masks and long protective clothing. We're very happy."