Having hantavirus was 'hell on earth'

The MV Hondius is now sailing towards Spain's Canary Islands after being anchored for three days near Cape Verde, an archipelago nation off the West African coast.

Hantaviruses, which are named after a river in South Korea, describe a family of viruses rather than one single disease. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) there are more than 20 viral species. It typically spreads from rodents through dried urine and droppings.

This usually happens by breathing in the virus, for example when rodent urine and droppings that contain hantavirus are stirred up into the air. The virus can also be caught from a bite from a rodent, such as a rat.

Lorne believes he caught hantavirus from mouse droppings after shaking a rug in his attic.

Christian, like Lorne, had never heard of the hantavirus, but a biologist commissioned by the authorities found a positive sample in his garden, and that his son found a dead mouse in the garden days earlier.

There is currently no widely available vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for hantavirus infections.

Treatment is supportive and based on symptoms, such as hospital care and respiratory support.

Lorne was allowed to go home after his hospital stay, but said it took a year-and-a-half to recover and rebuild his body back to full strength, describing the recovery process as "very slow".

"There are micro baby-steps of recovery where I take two steps forward and four steps back." he said.

"I also had other issues where I had a frozen shoulder after coming home from the hospital, which was extremely painful, so I was trying to rebuild myself. but also first I had to rebuild my shoulder before I could start working on other things."

Christian said he was "perfectly fit" with "no consequential damages" following his four-month recovery, but also found the longer than expected recovery process hard and that the dialysis process he was put through was hard work for the whole body".

While Lorne says he's doing well, he suffers from a heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation and needs daily heart medication.

"My heart is not synching, the chambers aren't synching properly. So when they got my heart going again, I have a strong heart but it's not in proper rhythm."

Lorne said that he is grateful to the medical team that helped him with his recovery and helps raise money to buy medical equipment and fund medical rennovations for his local health foundation.

Christian described his experience as a humbling experience, saying: "It was a hard time, hard days, but many many people suffering more than me."

He told the BBC that since his recovery and having more time, he tries to read a book every week.

Despite the long recovery, Lorne said he was "coming back to normal life," and was back at work and raising his children.

"You don't really take things for granted as much," he said.

"I appreciate even the smallest little details that most people wouldn't even acknowledge or see going through daily life."

"I didn't drink fluids for two weeks when I was in ICU, and I just remember having that sip of fresh clean water was the best thing I ever tasted in my life."