22 February 2023 , 15:02
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An artist was left in a coma for two months after catching avian flu during a family holiday.
Miles Negus-Fancey, 59, travelled to Austria for a skiing break with wife Jackie when they both fell ill.
They returned on a Saturday, and by the following Monday Miles was in intensive care at the Countess of Chester Hospital with multiple-organ failure, and doctors even warned he might die.
When he survived the initial bout, he was later diagnosed with leukaemia and stayed in hospital for four months.
Now in remission after the 2016 nightmare, he has since set up a charity for people and their families going through similar circumstances.
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Jackie, 58, said: “We went on a skiing holiday, and Miles picked up avian flu when he was there.
The artist was also diagnosed with leukaemia (Jackie Negus-Fancey)
Miles and Jackie Negus-Fancey on holiday in Austria in 2016 (Jackie Negus-Fancey)“We were all ill and we came back on the Saturday [and] by the Monday, he was in intensive care.
“All his organs failed, and they said that he was going to die. And then they found out he had leukaemia, so it seemed like that was it.
"This carried on for about six weeks, on and off. I'd be called back in and they’d say ‘Right, he’s not going to last the night,’ and then he would survive.
"Then when he came home, both my parents who were living in the same village, they both became ill. My mum had a brain tumour, and my dad became ill, and then the next year they died.
"So it's been a long time. It's been a horrendous few years. Miles has had treatments with leukaemia, and at the moment he's in remission because he's been on a trial drug at Christie's, which is an amazing place.
“But he's such a positive person," she told CheshireLive.
The couple's art and design businesses collapsed as a result of the illness as Jackie took time to care for Miles.
Now that he's in remission, they set up their own art business working with those who have been in intensive care, as well as their families, through the Critical Care Support Network, which Miles set up following his hospital treatment.
They produce home décor featuring detailed illustrations, with many featuring vivid depictions of animals and plant life.
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Jackie added: "It's going really, really well and Miles has come a hell of a long way. It's really, really exciting."
After Miles began to recover from his ordeal, he set up a charity called the Critical Care Support Network, helping people who have been in intensive care and their families. The group saw huge demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jackie said: "We were asked by one of the nurses in the intensive care ward if we would set up a support group for people who've been in the same situation. So Miles went on to set up the Critical Care Support Network.
"It basically helps people and the families of people who've been in intensive care to recover. We started doing face-to-face meetings in Chester, and then lockdown came, so we started doing it on Zoom, and that's where we started getting people from all over the country whose families were in intensive care with covid."