A DAD who spent the last two months on a ventilator fighting for his life with Covid-19 has been clapped out of the Intensive Care Unit by the doctors who saved him.

Steve Grizzle was hit so hard by the virus that Basildon Hospital doctors were forced to tell his family they wouldn’t be able to resuscitate him if his heart stopped.

But the family refused to give up hope for the 58-year-old and a phone call from his loving wife, Michelle, while he was asleep gave him the strength to fight on.

Mr Grizzle has now beaten the virus and has been moved to a respiratory ward to recover, after being clapped out of ICU on Tuesday.

His daughter, Danielle Dix, said: “At the end of March, dad started to get symptoms like a cough, a fever and he was really struggling to swallow.

“My sister, Remmie, and mum, Michelle, also came down with symptoms, but by day nine, they felt better. Dad only seemed to get worse.”

The dad-of-two, from Stanford-le-Hope, held off calling for medical help until he found it difficult to breath on April 7. He was then rushed to Basildon Hospital.

Danielle added: “They put him onto [the] Covid ward, and the following morning the hospital called to tell us they were putting him on a ventilator. Dad demanded to speak to mum one last time and tell her he loved her and that he’d fight to come back to his family.”

The 32-year-old from Benfleet added: “It was very scary for us all and it’s unbelievable how quickly it came on - his kidneys shut down and stopped working completely.

“The palliative care doctors actually phoned mum and asked her to try and talk to him. We were told that if his heart stopped, they wouldn’t be able to resuscitate - we thought he wouldn’t make it.

“What was so strange is that dad heard her while he was asleep, and miraculously after mum had spoken to him he started to improve.

“She really pulled him through it and has pulled us through it too. I’m truly in awe of her bravery.”

Steve, who came off the ventilator two weeks ago, is now managing to sit up in bed and had his first drink in two months on Monday.

Danielle added: “It was such an emotional moment to see everyone clapping him out of ICU, he rang the bell, waved and yelled: ‘I made it!’, which is something we never thought we’d see but prayed so hard for.

“It’s made him so weak and he isn’t able to walk yet, but his kidneys seem to be improving. Thank you to all the hospital staff that saved my dad and took exceptional care of him, you really are heroes. To other families out there - remember there is hope. This was our motto through it all, and look where we are.”