Oldham assistant Brendan Sheridan on his terrifying coronavirus experience and mental battle

Drew Darbyshire 29 Apr 2020 11:24 AM

Oldham assistant coach Brendan Sheridan has opened up on his scary fight against coronavirus – and how he is now facing a mental battle.

The 41-year-old has been out of hospital for over a week now after beating coronavirus and is on the road back to full recovery.

Sheridan spent two weeks on intensive care in an induced coma – and says he will be forever grateful to all the NHS staff that helped him at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield.

He said: “It’s only now that I’m starting to realise how lucky I was and that I owe my life to the wonderful people at Pinderfields.

“At the same time, I can’t stop thinking about the thousands who weren’t as lucky as I was. Every day I ask myself ‘why me? why do I deserve to be as fortunate as this?’

“I’m getting on with my recovery now and I’m slowly getting there. I’m doing a three-mile walk every day but my battle is more of a mental one after everything that’s happened in the last few weeks.”

The first covid-19 patient put on a ventilator at Pinderfields Hospital has returned home after a 2 week coma. Rugby league coach Brendan Sheridan says his nurses were 'angels without wings' More on @BBCLookNorth next. @DewsburyCeltic @Roughyeds @BrendanSherid16 pic.twitter.com/Bk1E7J7jBV

— Luxmy Gopal📺 (@luxmy_g) April 24, 2020

Sheridan says he never had any of the coronavirus symptoms but a sudden shortage of breath – and never thought he would contract the virus.

He added: “It all happened so quickly. I seemed to be okay one minute and then really struggling for breath the next.

“I can recall going in the ambulance and arriving at hospital but I don’t remember another thing until I came round in the intensive care ward after what I later learned was two weeks in a coma.

“It was surreal. In the days after I woke up I started to piece together what had happened to me by talking to family, friends and hospital staff and then it struck home just how critically ill I had been.

“When I came round from the coma I couldn’t function properly. I couldn’t write my name, text or dial numbers on the phone, but I’m coming along nicely now and I owe so much to the amazing doctors, nurses and the rest of the staff at Pinderfields; to my family and friends; and to all the people of the wider rugby league community, especially from Oldham and the Dewsbury and Batley areas, who have done so much messaging and given me so much support.”

And Sheridan has urged everyone to stick to the government’s guidelines at this difficult time and stay at home.

He said: “By all pulling together as a nation we can beat this thing, but we’ve still a way to go yet and we need to stick to social distancing and following government guidelines for a while longer yet.”

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