David Schell’s brush with death battling 100 days of Covid hell

When David Schell contracted Covid, he had no idea of the battle ahead – in a hospital bed for nearly 100 days, weeks in ICU, two comas and a constant fight for life.

David Schell contracted Covid last year and, like most people, was expecting a couple of rough days and a week in isolation.

But his battle against the virus turned into a nightmare.

It included nearly 100 days in hospital, nine weeks in intensive care, in and out of comas and, ultimately, staring death in the face.

Today, nearly six months after being released from hospital, the 59-year-old bus driver from Morphett Vale still battles the lasting effects of the virus.

He’s getting his driver’s licence back this month but is yet to be cleared to drive a bus and return to work.

Mr Schell and his wife, Belinda have decided to share their story of endurance and recovery in the hope of inspiring others battling long-terms effects of the virus.

David Schell with his wife Belinda today, after going through hell with Covid. Picture: Dean Martin

“I’m not trying to go through that again,” Mr Schell said.

Ms Schell added: “To even think about losing someone you love … it was probably the toughest time in my life.”

The hospital staff were “amazed” at Mr Schell’s recovery.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I might be here (in hospital) for a while but I’m gonna go home to my wife, back to the (footy) club and family and friends.

“I’m not going to wherever you go when you pass away, I’m too young for that.”

There were almost 30,000 active Covid cases when Mr Schell contracted the virus in April last year. His wife was also one of them.

The 59-year-old was “fit and active” with no pre-existing health conditions and he regularly ran water for Glenelg Football Club – which he holds dear to his heart.

Little did he know what he was about to endure.

On April 24, he began feeling nauseous, prompting his wife to call an ambulance.

The officers administered an anti-nausea injection and left their Morphett Vale home.

The next day, he continued to feel rough and another ambulance was called.

This time, the bus driver was rushed to Flinders Medical Centre, where he sat ramped for more than an hour before he rapidly deteriorated.

David in his Glenelg gear in hospital. Picture: Supplied

“He started to have chest pains and he just went down really, really quickly,” Ms Schell said.

He was placed in a coma and put on an ECMO machine that day.

At 2am, his doctor called Ms Schell to say her husband might need a heart and lung transplant because his body was “(shutting) down”.

Nine days later he was still on the machine – the longest time a patient had been on an ECMO, the hospital said – and still in the coma.

But he would recover and was able to keep his vital organs.

He was diagnosed with myocarditis, a heart condition he developed after he received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The condition flared up when he contracted Covid.

“He was in a coma for two and half weeks and they put a tracheotomy in,” she said.

“Then they woke him up and he was fine.

“I went and I saw him, he was with the ducks (outside) and everything was going okay.”

But just when the couple, who have been married for 12 years, thought Mr Schell had made it through the worst of it, he again started to “go downhill”.

He contracted pneumonia, herpes began to flare on his lungs, he went into kidney failure, fluid developed in his lungs and his brain experienced a bleed.

David Schell with his dog Gigi visiting him in hospital. Picture: Supplied

“He just crashed,” Ms Schell said. “This is all caused by Covid.”

He was placed in an induced coma for a second time where he stayed for another two weeks before, again, starting the process of recovery.

Ms Schell was sick with anxiety.

“I lost 5kg in three days,” she said.

She watched as her husband fought for his life, hooked up to machines, being fed through a tube, having dialysis on his kidneys and a machine helping him breathe.

She watched him go from 78kg to 63kg.

“I remember not sleeping, just pacing up and down just waiting with my phone, it was always with me,” she said.

“I was just thinking about getting that call. Every time there was a private number you’d think is this the news you don’t want to get.”

The couple’s golden labrador Gigi “didn’t know what was going on”.

Ms Schell, a dental nurse, called her husband every single day at the same time, whether he was in a coma or not.

“People say that when someone’s in a coma, they can hear you and that they know that there’s someone on the other end,” she said.

The Morphett Vale man was in his second coma for two weeks before he was slowly woken up.

David and Belinda Schell with their labrador Gigi. Picture Dean Martin

He stayed in ICU for three weeks, while he continued to be on dialysis and battled a lung infection before he was transferred to the cardiac care unit at the hospital.

David Schell was in hospital for 95 days with Covid but survived constant medical set backs. Picture: Supplied

He spent weeks recovering there before being transferred to the rehabilitation centre.

“I asked him (the doctor) about the timeframe for rehab and they said it depends on the individual … it could range anywhere from three to six weeks,” Mr Schell said.

“I said nope, three weeks for me and I’m out of there.”

And in three weeks, Mr Schell learnt to walk, speak, and eat properly again.

“I wanted to walk out of there but unfortunately I didn’t quite get to that point,” he said.

After 95 days straight in Flinders Medical Centre, 63 of those in ICU, Mr Schell slowly but surely walked out of there, with a walking frame supporting him each step of the way.

Mr Schell attributes the mental strength he exhibited throughout his remarkable recovery to his wife, late parents and his “unfinished business”.

“Dad was a little bit of a stubborn bugger and so am I,” he said.

Mr Schell was released from hospital on July 28, after almost 100 consecutive days.

He continued to attend rehab multiple times a week for six weeks, feeling like himself again in October, months after he first contracted the virus.

While he continues to have rehab on his foot, which developed drop foot while in hospital, he believes he can make a 95 per cent recovery.

The couple now wear masks whenever they leave the house.

His doctors say it’s unlikely he will again become as sick as he was, but Mr Schell isn’t taking any chances.