Dad had to lie in hospital carpark while waiting for Covid treatment

A Queensland dad has revealed his horrific experience with Covid-19, including being so sick that he had to lie in a carpark waiting for treatment.

A Queensland father of four has spoken out about the horrific Covid-19 symptoms he experienced, revealing the virus left him so weak he was forced to lie down in a hospital carpark while he waited for treatment.

David, 38, and his wife were diagnosed with Covid-19 last week, just days after their four-month-old daughter Charlotte tested positive to the virus.

Just days after his diagnosis, David found himself suffering such severe symptoms that he had to be hospitalised.

On Thursday, David posted a picture of himself to Twitter in a bed Mater Hospital in South Brisbane, with the dad begging others to take the virus seriously.

“Photo of someone you know in hospital with Covid,” he wrote alongside the photo.

“It’s not a hoax. It’s not always mild. This is very real.

“Our medical system is so overwhelmed. I had my PCR and RAT test taken on the bitumen of the car park at outside of Emergency – I lay on concrete till a bed was free.”

A photo of someone you know in hospital with Covid.

It’s not a hoax. It’s not always mild. This is very real.

Our medical system is so overwhelmed. I had my PCR and Rat test taken on the bitumen of the car park at outside of Emergency - I laid on concrete till a bed was free. pic.twitter.com/IObEJnj7BZ

— myNAMEisDVG (@myNAMEisDVG) January 19, 2022

He said he was so weak that he wasn’t able to hold himself up to sit on the chair provided in the hospital carpark.

“There were plastic chairs in the car park but I couldn’t sit upright so lay on concrete,” he wrote.

He said he in no way blames the hospital or the staff for having to wait, saying it was clear they were “past breaking point”.

“There was 20-30 people in carpark plus 10 ambulances waiting to be triaged,” he said.

“The staff have been amazing but they are just being totally overwhelmed. It’s quite crazy.”

David said he was taken to a bed within an hour, adding it was “confronting” seeing the conditions being faced my frontline workers.

The 38-year-old has had two Covid shots but hadn’t yet received his booster shot when he contracted the virus.

He also suffers from other medical issues, including chronic asthma and is on two levels of immunosuppressants.

David with his daughter Charlotte.

Speaking to the Courier Mail, David revealed he began experiencing terrible temperatures and even hallucinating just days after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

“Tuesday night I had a real “ordinary” night. I had bad temperatures and was hallucinating really badly,” he said.

“Apparently I was asking my wife if she had booked tickets to go over and help with the (volcano), to help the people in Tonga.

“It was a rough night. I woke up Wednesday and had all the different symptoms, chronic headaches, diarrhoea, all that stuff, then I had trouble with breathing by later Wednesday.”

David made another Twitter post on Friday, saying he had been released from hospital and was back home with his family.

“I feel like a truck has run over me. Feel very weak,” he said.

“Hoping household can be Covid free within couple weeks.”

Brisbane residents queuing for testing at the Mater Hospital. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Josh Woning

He thanked the “amazing” staff at the Mater Hospital and all the people that had sent him well wishes.

While David’s youngest child Charlotte is now starting to improve, his other children had now also tested positive to the virus.

This means the whole family will need to stay in isolation until everyone recovers.

He told the Courier Mail that having Covid felt like Mike Tyson had punched him in the “back of the ribs a few times”.

However, he maintained that one of the most confronting things was seeing just how much hospital staff were struggling to keep up with the intake of patients.

“The whole carpark thing was a real wake up call. It’s obviously not the first time I’ve seen ambulances lining up to be triaged … But seeing that many sick people in that car park was eye opening,” he said.

“If you know a frontline worker, take the time to check in on them. Their role is something that we may have taken for granted in the past.”

Queensland confirmed 13,551 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday and nine deaths.