A DALGETY BAY man facing a long-term recovery from coronavirus is pleading with the public to take the virus seriously.

Niall Williams was hospitalised in late March and was placed in an induced coma.

The 48-year-old was under for two months before NHS staff were able to bring him round; resuscitating him more than once.

Speaking to the Press this week, he said he owes them his life.

"I was very ill," he said.

"If it wasn't for the brilliant NHS staff – these wonderful people – I wouldn't be here.

"They worked on me hard for those two months that I was in the coma.

"Coronavirus is an invisible killer and I owe my life to the NHS."

He went into hospital a few days after lockdown was announced and missed the strictest restrictions that were in place – as well as his birthday.

"It blew my mind when the staff woke me up and told me it was June," he remarked.

He has since researched what happened during those missing months and said that watching current news coverage is causing him frustration and anger.

"Knowing what I've read of how people were before and seeing how people are now, I think they have become complacent and tired of it all," he said.

"But we need to listen to our government and follow the rules that are being imposed. The restrictions are there for a reason.

"There is no magic wand to get rid of this disease. We all have to work together.

"For me, I need to speak to people life yourself to get that message out there that following the rules is what we all need to do."

His experience with the coronavirus started out of the blue and an emerging fever worsened at an alarming rate.

He cannot recall doing so but his wife, Melanie, told him that he had phoned NHS 24 and an ambulance was dispatched immediately.

"I can only remember being inside the ambulance but that it's it; I don't recall anything after that," Niall stated.

"I was taken into ICU and my wife was told that they would be putting me under.

"We have spoken about the heartache that she has had to go through.

"It is only me and her and we make a very strong husband and wife.

"For her to go through this, coupled with the fact she couldn't see me for months, it was very hard.

"She was only then able to visit me at the end of my time at Victoria Hospital.

"It was particularly special for us."

Between spending two months in the coma and one month in recovery, he spent three months in the ICU department in Kirkcaldy.

He was then moved to Ward 43 for physio work having lost his muscle tone and becoming "just skin and bone", he said.

It was during this time when he was able to breathe on his own again.

He had been taken off the ventilators towards the end of his stay in ICU but had required additional oxygen up until that point in Ward 43.

Niall was then transferred to Cameron House Hospital in Windygates and placed in the Sir George Sharp unit for rehabilitation.

He was expected to stay for six months but he pushed himself through his exercises and was out and back home in two instead.

He is now currently reliant on a wheelchair and mobility aids – a requirement he has never faced before – while he also faces respiratory issues and becoming fatigued very quickly.

Niall doesn't know how long his recovery will take or what permanent damage has been done.

Upon his return home to Steeple Crescent in September, the District Explorer Scout Commissioner was greeted by the sight of the Dalgety Bay Explorer Scouts lining the street for him.

They applauded his arrival and to mark the end of a near seven-month-long battle and the start of the next phase in his recovery.

He said: "It was very emotional after spending all that time in hospital with this invisible, killer disease.

"To see them all standing and clapping and waving banners, it meant a lot.

"I was very proud of them all."