British couple return to thank medical staff for saving them from COVID-19

The British couple give a book about their treatment for COVID-19 in Vietnam to doctors and nurses at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – A British couple among the nation's first COVID-19 patients have returned to Vietnam to thank the medical staff who treated them and present the hosts with a book about their time under care.

Three years ago, Shan Coralie Barker, a British tourist, and her husband, Dixon John Garth, were transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on their first visit to Vietnam shortly after they landed at Hanoi’s airport.

The British couple came to visit their son in Vietnam from the UK at the beginning of March 2020. Unfortunately, they tested positive for COVID-19 before they could meet him.

The couple was immediately quarantined and hospitalised for COVID-19 treatment.

Barker recovered from the disease, but her husband suffered respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation.

The 74-year-old patient had a 10-year history of blood cancer and had to fight for his life. He finally won the battle after more than a month in hospital.

Barker said: "I talked to the doctor so I could see him. I'm so grateful for the efforts of the doctors and nurses here.”

On the night of April 13, 2020, the British patient was discharged from the hospital. They boarded a flight back home at dawn on April 14, 2020.

On their second visit to Vietnam early this month, the British couple decided to return to the hospital to thank doctors for treating them three years ago.

At the intensive care unit, Barker, who was COVID-19 patient No. 24, and Garth, No. 28, were delighted to see the doctors and nurses who took care of them.

Barker said: "I’m very happy to meet the people who treated me because, at that time, we didn't know who they were or what they looked like, as they were all covered by protective clothing and face masks."

After two hours of talking, Barker gave the doctors and nurses a book of more than 100 pages telling their own journey when she caught COVID-19 while on a flight from London to Hanoi and how they got treated.

Her book, 'A Diverse Nurse Thanks Vietnam', was written in the summer of 2020, a few months after she and her husband were hospitalised with COVID-19 and put on ventilators at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases.

Barker said that the hospital was their first stopover during their second trip to Vietnam.

They wanted to come back to the country to thank doctors and nurses and visit the scenic spots they missed in 2020.