Elderly couple married for 61 years leave hospital together after recovering from coronavirus

‘I’ve not really missed anything because Gillian is here and I have been able to see her every day,’ 91-year-old Michael England says about his wife

(Photo by Russell England (Facebook: Leicester's Hospitals))

An elderly couple who have been married for more than six decades left hospital together after recovering from the coronavirus.

Michael England, who is 91, and Gillian England, who is 88, were recently being treated at Leicester Royal Infirmary after contracting Covid-19.

The couple, who have been married for 61 years, made strong efforts to continue spending time together during their hospital stays, sharing a “daily cup of tea together”.

In a post shared on the Facebook page for Leicester’s Hospitals, it stated that both Mr and Mrs England spent three weeks in hospital when they became unwell.

It stated that Laura Lomas, a member of staff on their ward at Leicester Royal Infirmary, “described how each morning during their stay, Mr England would get himself up and dressed before the therapist teams arrived, so that when he needed to exercise he could ask to walk to his wife at her bedside”.

“And there, awake and waiting in earnest would be his wife, ready for their daily cup of tea together,” it said.

Mr England stated that during his time in hospital, he didn’t “miss anything” because he was able to spend time with his wife.

“While I’ve been in hospital I’ve not really missed anything because Gillian is here and I have been able to see her every day,” he said.

He added that he “can’t describe the kindness of the nursing staff who made our stay in hospital so comfortable and worked so hard to make sure we were looked after on the same ward”.

The 91-year-old said that the hospital staff showed “such compassion” towards the couple “in so many ways”, adding: “Kindness goes such a long way.”

Michael and Gillian England (University Hospitals of Leicester)

In the Facebook post, Leicester’s Hospitals wrote that Mr and Mrs England are “looking forward to seeing their three sons and their families again”.

Speaking to the BBC, one of the couple’s sons, Russell England, said that at one point, his father was given 48 hours to live, but “remarkably” made a recovery.