A runny nose to a coma then 'paralysed in a nightmare': Healthy Melbourne man's battle with COVID-19

A Melbourne man did not recognise himself when he woke up, unable to walk and with a hole in his face, weeks after he was put into a coma within 90 minutes of going to hospital with COVID-19.

It started with a runny nose in the depths of Melbourne's stage four lockdown in September last year, but a case of COVID-19 almost killed Theo Ikosidekas.

The 32-year-old lay unconscious in a hospital bed, fighting for life for two weeks, and had to spend months more working to regain a semblance of his former life after that.

A year on, Ikosidekas is finally considered back to "normal", but he is haunted by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his harrowing health battle.

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From sweats to gasping for air: A sudden and rapid decline

The decline in Ikosidekas' health was so quick that he was working just 24 hours before doctors urgently put him in a medically-induced coma to save his life.

The beauty entrepreneur from Northcote said he had no pre-existing health conditions or factors commonly known to make people more vulnerable to the virus.

"The only thing I can think of is I was highly stressed because we were in a lockdown," Ikosidekas told 9news.com.au.

He was booked in to get vaccinated against the highly-contagious virus when he got "mildly sick" with a runny nose.

Four days later, his cold-like symptoms had evolved into something far more serious.

"I started getting shortness of breath. I lost my appetite and I had the sweats," he said.

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He called an ambulance the next day and spent less than 90 minutes in the emergency department at The Austin Hospital, in Melbourne's north-east, before doctors put him in a coma.

Ikosidekas, who had the Delta strain, was all alone in the "extremely traumatic" moment as COVID-19 restrictions meant patients had to be isolated, so his family could not come in.

He had no idea how long he'd have to go under or if he would ever see them again.

"I didn't know if I would wake up or when I'd wake up," Ikosidekas said.

"The doctor was telling me that I was extremely sick. It didn't even feel real."

Normal oxygen levels are 95 per cent or above. Ikosidekas' were at 72 per cent.

Distressed and confused, he had to quickly contact his family and friends to tell them he was going under, and hand over his passwords so a colleague could step in and run his business.

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'Is this my new life?': Jarring reality of COVID-19 fight

Ikosidekas was on a ventilator in a critical condition for 15 days.

He developed life-threatening pneumonia hypoxia which quickly spread to his lungs and caused a blood clot.

His family could not visit him and were given an update that he was alive once a day.

When Ikosidekas eventually woke up from the coma, he was on his own and had no idea what had happened.

He had bedsores on his face, a hole in his cheek and cuts all over his tongue.

He then discovered he would have to learn to walk again.

"My entire body had just stopped doing what it was used to doing," Ikosidekas said.

"I remember the first time I had to have a shower in the hospital. I was huffing and puffing it was that exhausting. I thought, 'Is this my new life?'"

Ikosidekas said he was given incredible care and is grateful to have such dedicated healthcare workers keeping him alive.

He was told he'd have to spend two months in hospital.

Remarkably, he fought to be able to go home a week after getting out of the coma.

But he was not returning to normality.

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'Like I was under house arrest': Long and painful road to recovery

Ikosidekas had to inject himself with blood thinners twice a day and use a walking frame.

He was unable to drive and had frequent physiotherapy.

"I felt like I was under house arrest in a sense," he said.

"I was on heavy-duty medication which also made me extremely emotional, so the next few months were extremely challenging.

"I had scars on my face from the medication tubes, I couldn't even recognise myself.

"It was a long and painful road."

Ikosidekas found concentrating very difficult and doctors warned him not to work for long periods as he could overstrain his brain - something that rocked the "workaholic".

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"That was also very concerning for me because I thought, 'Am I ever going to be able to work at the same capability that I once was?' My work was everything."

Ikosidekas - who is now fully vaccinated - returned to work a month after his release, but was only able to go back full-time in March.

He remained on blood thinners and steroids for six months.

As he was starting to feel physically better, he caught the Omicron strain of COVID-19.

The illness was nowhere near as significant, but the anxiety of facing the virus again hit him hard.

'Distressing' flashbacks like being trapped in a nightmare

A year since contracting COVID-19, Ikosidekas is only now considered fully recovered.

He is physically back to his old self, but has been diagnosed with PTSD and the psychological impacts are significant.

"I have a lot of flashbacks. It's quite distressing," the Melbourne man said.

"My only memories during that time are lucid dreams, where I was paralysed and couldn't move my body or speak.

"It was terrifying, like being in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from."

He has moved back in with his parents who, along with a psychologist, are helping him manage his PTSD.

The 32-year-old is confident he will move past the mental battle and is thankful he can return to work and his social life.

"I'm 100 per cent back and I couldn't be happier about it," he said.

His heath battle has taught him not to put anything in life off.

"You don't know what you're going to have next year," he said.