Britain’s longest hospitalized Covid patient has spent a third Christmas away from his family, but his twin still hopes he will come home this year.
Steve Laviniere, 59, and his twin brother Bobby, both popular DJs in London, contracted the virus in March 2020 after playing a gig in Madrid and being put on a ventilator.
While Bobby was weaned off a ventilator after seven days and took two months to recover from the virus, Steve suffered multiple organ failure and encephalitis and is still in hospital. He cannot walk and has to be fed through a tube.
Despite Steve being in the hospital for nearly three years and requiring 24-hour care, Bobby says his brother’s resilience is a “miracle” and that “everything is moving in the right direction.”
Covid-stricken DJ Steve Laviniere (59) spent a third Christmas away from his family, but his twin brother still hopes he will come home this year. Steve is pictured with his wife Julie before he fell ill
Steve contracted the virus in March 2020. He suffered from multiple organ failure and encephalitis and is still in hospital. He cannot walk and has to be fed through a tube
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Steve – who appeared in Kate Garraway’s ITV documentary Finding Derek – was admitted to hospital with Covid just three days after then Prime Minister Boris Johnson first locked down Britain.
Paramedics put the DJ into an induced coma and he suffered a rare neurological condition called acute hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis (AHLE).
Bobby claims that people with AHLE “usually don’t survive a week” and thinks it’s a “miracle” that his brother is alive.
Knowing that “it could be a lot worse,” the family is optimistic that she will bring Steve home this year.
“His soul is still here, I know he can still hear us and we are doing our best to get him home,” Bobby told The Mirror.
“In the last three weeks, his wife has seen him wiggle his toe – something like that shows he can react.”
He added: “Everything is moving in the right direction. He’s fighting out there, I’m sure of it.”
Bobby (left) – twin brother of Steve (right) – says his brother’s resilience is a “miracle” and “everything is moving in the right direction”.
The brothers, popular DJs on London’s house music scene, had very different health outcomes following their Covid diagnoses (Picture: Bobby, left and Steve, right)
Permission was granted for the family to renovate the house where Steve (right) lived with his wife Julie (left) so that he could return to the residence
Steve goes home for a few hours every eight weeks, but now his family thinks he can come home for good next summer, Bobby told the newspaper.
Permission was granted to the family to renovate the house where Steve lived with his wife Julie so that he could return to the residence.
Once the renovations are complete, Steve initially drives home on weekends. What his home care plan will look like after that is unclear.
The family raised more than £35,000 to raise money for renovations. Bobby hopes they can raise another £30,000.
He says the “love and support” the family received while treating Steve kept me going.
Bobby is working to start the Bobby and Steve Foundation, which he believes will support people with neurological disorders.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
