COVID Patient Hospitalized for Over a Year Suddenly Hit by "Fainting Attacks"

A British man who has been hospitalized for over a year after catching COVID has been hit with "fainting attacks" as his health has deteriorated.

Jason Kelk, 49, has been at an intensive care unit in the English city of Leeds since March 31 2020. He is thought to be one of the longest known COVID patients in the U.K.

Sue Kelk, his wife, told U.K. broadcaster Sky News he has been experiencing "fainting attacks" for the first time in the past week. Doctors do not know why Jason has been losing consciousness.

Jason has been "having quite a few problems," said his wife, as he appears to be more confused, is unable to sleep properly, and is interacting with people online less than he used to.

After being off a ventilator for a number of weeks, Jason was hooked up to the machine again after his health worsened. The school IT worker also needs a kidney dialysis machine, and may permanently need a tube to remove fluids from his throat and windpipe.

Sue Kelk said: "I don't think he believes in himself anymore. He's never, ever lost belief in himself. He's always thought positively.

"It's not like that now. He's frustrated. I think he knows what's going on but it's almost like he's given up... it's just really hard."

She said: "He's literally back to where he was at the end of March and beginning of April."

On a GoFundMe page set up on April 7 to raise money for her husband's return home, Sue wrote: "I just want to be ready when we hear the words 'Jason is ready to go home next week'."

Jason has asthma and diabetes, meaning he is at greater risk of developing severe COVID.

His worsening condition comes after he walked for the first time in February since being hospitalized, after being bed-bound for almost a year.

At the time, Sue told U.K. news outlet Metro: "I felt 10 foot tall. I'm so proud of him, it really is miraculous to see."

She told Sky News her husband used Facebook Messenger almost every day. His last publicly visible post on the social media platform was on April 28, when he shared a link to a YouTube channel.

On April 24, he wrote: "I've spent the morning writing a *very* rude little missive to Covid 19... I dont know if viruses read scroll texts but, if they do, this one'll feel seriously burnt when this goes out!"

In March, Jason told local news outlet the Yorkshire Evening Post: "My family is what kept me fighting. It would have been a very different year without them there."

To those who do not take the virus seriously, Jason said: "Most people won't end up bed-ridden for a year with regular dialysis and breathing through a pipe but it can happen.

"I'm never going to fully recover from this, don't let yourself get caught up in the same boat."