A father and son in Fort McMurray are enjoying life again after each survived weeks in the ICU with COVID-19.

Clayton and Scott Langford both contracted the virus in May and had to be put in induced comas for several weeks.

During this time, they were both transferred to Edmonton due to a lack of beds at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre.

“It’s a hard thing to even think about,” said Clayton.

Back on May 14, Clayton was taken to the NLRHC after having trouble breathing. He had tested positive for the virus the week before.

The very next day Scott arrived at the hospital.

“I can remember in the ICU one of the nurses said they were bringing my son down and she put him next to me and I waved to him.”

This was Clayton’s last memory before he was put in a coma and woke up around four weeks later.

During this time, his wife Carole-Anne and Scott’s wife Kara were in a tough position as they rarely got to see their loved ones.

“It was the worse thing, I thought I was going to lose my husband,” added Kara. “I didn’t know what to say, I just kept positive that he was going to fight through this.”

To help with their anxiety, nurses for Clayton and Scott gave their families regular updates.

After weeks of battling, the two were able to pull through and were discharged just three days apart – Scott this past Saturday and Clayton on Tuesday.

The entire Langford family could not say enough to thank the doctors and nurses in Fort McMurray and Edmonton.

“You were a person not just a number, a body in the bed to look after,” said Clayton. “They looked after you just like a family member.”

Meanwhile, Clayton is hoping his and his son’s story will help end any debate around the severity of the virus.

In his opinion, there are too many people not taking COVID seriously. Whether they believe they won’t have a severe outcome, they could infect someone who could.

“I get so frustrated trying to listen to different people… I spent 40 days in the hospital, it is no joke.”