Brendan 'Shez' Sheridan, Oldham Rugby League Club's assistant coach, is back home in Dewsbury after making a full recovery from the Covid-19 virus during his three weeks in Pinderfields Hospital at Wakefield.
He is one of more than 240 Covid-19 patients to be discharged from hospitals run by Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust, to whom he sent a message asking the Trust to thank, on his behalf, all the staff at Pinderfields who had been involved in his care and in his subsequent recovery from the virus that has claimed the lives of thousands all over the world.
Those heartfelt thanks are echoed many times over by his family and by everyone at the Roughyeds, including chairman Chris Hamilton, head coach Matt Diskin, players, backroom staff and hundreds of fans.
Brendan (41), father of three, spent two weeks on the Intensive Care Unit at Pinderfields (ICU) in an induced coma and on a ventilator to help him to breathe. He then spent another week on Ward 20 where he made a full recovery.
During his time in ICU, Brendan's family and club chairman Chris Hamilton were updated daily about his condition.
With help from the nurses on duty at any given time, his family was able to video call him once he woke up.
In his message to the Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust ---revealed on the Trust website -- Brendan said he was very humbled and very grateful to the "fantastic" people at Pinderfields for the hard work and dedication of all the staff at the Trust.
It wasn't a one-man band; a lot of teamwork went into ensuring that the system worked to such a high and thoroughly professional standard.
He also said that the effort that went into making sure patients got the best possible care was absolutely amazing.
He concluded: "A big thank-you to all the staff on ICU, Ward 20, across the hospital and out in the community for all you are doing to support patients."
Roughyeds and their fans wish to acknowledge and support everything Brendan has said about the NHS and Pinderfields Hospital and to add to that their very best wishes for Shez's continued recovery.
By Roger Halstead
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