Postie struck by ‘man flu’ is left fighting for his life in a coma after FOUR heart attacks’
A POSTIE suffered four heart attacks, was put into a coma and spent nearly a year in hospital - after visiting his GP believing he was suffering from man flu.
Phil Bayley first fell ill in December 2015, but shrugged off his symptoms - braving going into work.
But a series of catastrophic complications, including pneumonia and an ulcerated bowel, meant the 58-year-old narrowly avoided death.
Phil explained: "I went to work on the Monday but started to feel really ill and dizzy so I got taken down to the hospital in Bridgewater, and then they gave me some antibiotics.
"I had a sore throat and a touch of flu so I thought I'd just take the antibiotics and go home.
"It was typical man flu - I've always said that man flu was worse than having a baby and now I've proved the fact.
"I went to bed and I woke up in the middle of that night and I couldn't breathe."
Phil was taken by ambulance to Musgrove Park Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with flu and pneumonia.
He added: "I stayed there for about a week but I had no oxygen in my blood so they had to use an special machine which basically takes your blood out and puts oxygen back into it."
Medics manged to keep Phil alive, putting him into an induced coma before transferring him to the Royal Brompton Hospital in London.
"I had pneumonia which ulcerated my bowels so they took most of my colon out," he recalled.
"I woke up a week later with tracheotomy down my throat and loads of machines around me.
"It's difficult to remember exactly what happened because I was heavily sedated with different drugs and I was hallucinating.
"I woke up and I'd lost most of my muscles, I couldn't breath by myself and I was being fed through a tube."
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While at the Royal Brompton Hospital, Phil suffered four heart attacks within three weeks - and doctors say Phil "cheated death" after he stay there for eleven gruelling months, during which he had a temporary pacemaker fitted.
He also picked up a hospital-acquired infection, saw his muscles waste away and was fed intravenously.
But while he was in hospital, Phil's generous Royal Mail colleagues raised over £600 to help pay for his girlfriend Susie, 43, to make the eight-hour round trip to London's Royal Brompton Hospital - a gesture he says helped him through his ordeal.
He said: "I was in hospital for four months in London so it was quite difficult for my family and my girlfriend to come up and see me every week - that kept me going.
"My work colleagues have been brilliant - they made a collection for me over Christmas so that my girlfriend could afford to come and see me.
"She really encouraged me to get better - I wouldn't have made it without her."
It was typical man flu – I’ve always said that man flu was worse than having a baby and now I’ve proved the fact
Phil Bayley
After recovering in Dene Barton Community Hospital, the near-fatal experience has rendered Phil, from Bridgwater, Somerset, unable to walk properly - while he has also lost use of one of his arms.
He said: "I use a wheelchair now, I can walk a little bit with a stick.
"I've lost the use of my right arm because the nerves have gone, so I've got to learn to do everything now with the other hand like signing my name.
"I cycled a lot as a postman and I loved going camping and things like that."
Now, after making a miracle recovery, Phil is urging others to make sure they take preventative measures when it comes to flu.
He said: "I did get offered the flu jab the year before last but me being me I didn't even think about taking it last year.
"Don't underestimate it and seriously think about having a flu jab.
"What is it they say? Prevention is always better than a cure."