The UK’s ‘longest-suffering Covid-19 inpatient’ died in June following a 14-and-a-half month battle in hospital.
Jason Kelk, 49, opted to withdraw all treatment after deciding he could not ‘live like this any more’ in St James’ Hospital in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
His admission was only one day after that of TV host Kate Garraway, who had just admitted him to the hospital on March 31, 2013.
He was a Leeds-based primary school teacher of IT.
Sue (63), his wife of 62 years, and five stepchildren, along with eight grandchildren, are all left behind.
Sue said her husband’s battle had become too much and that he had come to the decision to stop treatment.
Jason Kelk (pictured), 49, decided to stop receiving treatment at St James Hospital Leeds West Yorkshire after realizing he couldn’t ‘live like that anymore’.
Sue Kelk (pictured with her husband and daughter on their wedding day) stated that her husband had lost his battle and had made the difficult decision to stop all treatments.
Kelk was diagnosed with type II diabetes and asthma. He was taken to hospital on March 31. A few days later, he was moved to intensive care.
Ms. Kelk paid tribute to her 20-year-old’soulmate’ and said: “It was so peaceful. His decision to make it his way was crucial.
“But, he leaves an awful lot to people totally bereft.
Jason Kelk calls his wife Sue via Face Time during his fight against Covid.
“People may not believe he is brave, but my God! He has been brave. He has, I believe.
“I think this is one of the greatest things you can do, to say that I don’t want this to be my life anymore.”
Kelk was diagnosed with type II diabetes and asthma. He was admitted into hospital on March 31. He was then transferred to intensive medical care on April 3.
He was there all the time, fighting for his survival on many occasions following the destruction of his kidneys and lungs by the virus.
He suffered from severe stomach problems that required him to receive intravenously for his final days.
Due to gastroparesis, he experienced frequent vomiting episodes and couldn’t walk for much of the time he was in hospital.
Covid restrictions have made the ordeal even more difficult for the couple. They can only see one another a handful of times during his stay on the Ward, and must communicate through other channels such as Face Time.
He was able to complete 15 consecutive days without the need for a ventilator in March of this year.
After being taken off of a 24-hour renal filter, he enjoyed family visits outdoors on the hospital grounds every other week.
And before that, Ms Kelk said she felt about ’10 foot tall’ when he managed to walk with assistance for the first time in February.
He said that he was planning to return to Leeds and would like to “sit down on our couch and eat take-out fish and chips while Sue watches television.”
But he added: “I have lost my hope on many occasions, mainly due to the fact that even now, the destination I am working towards seems so far off.”
While Mr Kelk was recovering, he continued to enjoy tea, cake and coffee, while also returning to computer programming.
However, he suffered a serious illness at May’s beginning. He had to be kept on the ventilator for a couple of days before catching two more infections.
Mrs Kelk stated that her husband had ‘never truly recovered’ from the events.
The ventilator was still needed full-time, and he was forced to use it again. Mrs Kelk stated that he finally decided enough was enough.
She stated that he just wanted everything to end. He was unable to take the antibiotics, but his spirit disappeared.
Mrs Kelk said, “I believe Jason disappeared in February 2020.” This is the Jason that we remember. The Jason we loved was there.
“I believe I’ve been planning for this since the beginning. It’s not that I doubt he can do it.
“In those last weeks prior to his relapse, my thoughts were just starting to turn toward “maybe I can still hope now”, and then the punch hit the fan.
Mrs Kelk (pictured) stated that her sense of humor will be missed and that he ‘just being here’ is what she misses the most.
When he passed away this morning, Mr Kelk was surrounded not only by his sister but also his dad, mum and father.
His five stepchildren and eight grandchildren are his surviving. He had two of these children this year, and another is due in the near future.
Ms. Kelk stated that she would miss her husband’s sense of humor and his ‘just being there” the most. She added:[My daughter]Katie wrote an amazing poem about him, claiming that we were soulmates.
“We completed each other’s sentences about half of the time. It was instinctive that each one knew what they wanted. They just complimented one another.
“It has certainly been an enjoyable life with him. There were lots of fun things, but there was still so much more.