The owner of a Chester hotel was taken to hospital in the nick of time after falling ill during a lavish ceremony where he and his wife were due to win an award.
Nick Jones, 44, who runs Dodleston Manor with wife Rachel, ended up having to be taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital after his windpipe suddenly began to close up during the Marketing Cheshire awards at Chester Racecourse on Thursday night, which left him struggling to speak or breathe.
The couple won Best Newcomer to the Tourist Industry at the event, but another company ended up having to collect the award on their behalf minutes after Nick was forced to leave because he felt so ill.
Rachel, 43, told The Chronicle: “Nick had been complaining of a sore throat all week and generally didn’t feel well but I didn’t think too much of it, just passing it off as man flu as you do!
“We were at the awards ceremony having the meal and Nick said he was really starting to feel unwell. Gradually he started to look poorly, then turned grey and said he needed to go and sit in the car.
“The winners still hadn’t been announced so we agreed I’d wait there until they were, but then he rang me from the car and said he’d have to go home; by this time he could hardly breathe or speak.
“Before we both left we sat next to a lovely couple who said they would ring us to let us know how we got on and if we won, accept it on our behalf. As soon as I got home, the phone rang telling us we’d been announced as the winners only minutes after we’d left!”
At home, Rachel still didn’t realise how bad Nick’s condition was until he started being sick, and being barely able to breathe, the couple contacted the out of hours GP.
Shortly afterwards, Nick was admitted to the Countess of Chester Hospital’s intensive care unit, where he was told he had supraglottitis, an inflammation of the windpipe. Thankfully, antibiotics began to kick in before doctors operated in theatre, and Nick began to improve.
But he was warned that had he left it any later to seek medical help, the outcome may have been much bleaker.
“We couldn’t believe it, we thought it was just a sore throat,” said Rachel. “With kids, you’re a bit more forceful when something’s wrong but with adults you tend to wait a bit longer. It’s scary to think that just one hour later he could have been seriously ill because once the windpipe takes hold of your body after it swells up, it’s a very different story.
“Luckily he’s back home now and on a lot of tablets, just taking it easy. We were really lucky.”
She added: “Winning the award was fantastic since we only opened last year. I said to Nick, we’d better win again next year so I can enjoy the limelight at least one time!”
