‘Miracle man’ Seamus arrives home after 78 days in ICU

An Edenderry man who spent 78 days in intensive care and was on the verge of losing his life to Covid-19 was discharged from hospital last week after making a remarkable recovery.

"The doctors called me a miracle man," said Seamus Kane (57), who told the Offaly Independent that his wife Linda and daughters Carly and Shannon had been told to expect the worst when he was at his lowest ebb in March.

He had been admitted to Tullamore Hospital on Valentine's Day, February 14, about a week after contracting Covid.

"The first week, I thought I was handling it. I thought everything was fine. I had a bit of a chesty cough, and a slight weakness, but then my oxygen levels dropped dramatically so I got an ambulance and they transferred me to the intensive care unit (ICU) that same night," he explained.

His condition deteriorated further, and by St Patrick's Day hope of recovery had started to fade.

Seamus said that, while he is not particularly religious, it was around this time a hat belonging to the late Fr John McWey, after whom a street in Edenderry is named, was brought to his bedside.

"The people of Edenderry have great faith in Fr McWey. I was never the most religious, but the hat was given to my wife and she was told to come in and bless me with it, which she did.

"From the next day, I started to improve. Now, whether that had anything to do with it, I don't know. It could be coincidental. But everyone seems to have great faith in it, and I gradually started to improve day-by-day."

Having been in a comatose state, Seamus gradually began to respond to the voices of his wife and daughters. Around four weeks ago, after more than 11 weeks in ICU, he was moved out of the unit and into Medical 3 Ward in Tullamore.

"I had no voice and I couldn't walk - they had to teach me to walk again. When I went into the Medical 3 Ward I couldn't stand unaided, but the next day the physio started working on me, with a walking frame, and each day I went further and further, and got stronger and stronger."

Seamus, who is known for his involvement in soccer locally as chairperson of Edenderry Town FC, was discharged from hospital on May 18, with staff forming a guard of honour to applaud him on his departure.

The emotional moment was captured on video and shared on Twitter by his wife Linda, who said the previous months had been a "hard emotional rollercoaster" for the family.

Seamus remains on oxygen at home. He has some lingering difficulties with his lungs, and still has a road to travel in order to make a complete recovery. However, he is in a much better place than many had thought possible.

"One of the doctors said that, in a best-case scenario, if I did get out I would be on a ventilator for the rest of my life. And I'm not a ventilator now - I got off that a few weeks ago. So I've defied their expectations, and they are all on a high over it.

"When we were coming home in the car, my daughter said to me, 'how long does it feel?' I was away for over three months but, to me, it only feels like a month because I was comatose for so long."

Seamus expressed his gratitude to everyone who sent him cards, Mass bouquets, texts, and messages of support on social media. In particular, he wanted to express his heartfelt thanks to the staff at Tullamore Hospital.

"I owe my life to them," he said. "Without exception, every one of them was wonderful. They went above and beyond in their duties and were just so caring and patient.

"They have a natural compassion about them. They encouraged me, and with every little milestone I hit they seemed to get as much joy out of it as my family did.

"They said they never met anyone more determined to get home. Once I started out to walk again, I just pushed and pushed every day."

"When I was leaving the ICU, going into the ward, I got a standing ovation from all the staff, and while I was in the ward the ICU staff were still visiting me daily just to see how I was getting on.

"They sort-of got emotionally invested in my progress, and every one of them was brilliant."

Edenderry Town FC celebrated his discharge from hospital with a simple message: "What a legend. Welcome home, Mr Chairman!"

When he was speaking to this newspaper on Wednesday, Seamus remembered the families who had unfortunately lost loved ones as a result of the pandemic.

"It knocked me back a bit when I heard of others that lost the battle. There were some lovely people who passed away during my time in hospital, and it gave me a sense of guilt, to be honest, about why I should survive when they didn't.

"My sympathies go out to all of those families, God love them. There were people saying silly stuff like, 'it's only the 'flu' but this Covid is very real.

"I was just lucky that I was strong enough and fit enough, going into hospital, that I was able to fight it. It's such a fine line between winning (the battle) and not," he concluded.