‘There is a giant python slithering across the foot of my hospital bed. It’s at least eight feetlong and it’s looking right at me.’ My father, Robin Hanbury-Tenison, is recovering fromCovid-19 at Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital so it’s highly unlikely that there are any giantreptiles in his acute ward. He’s been there for over six weeks now and has been consciousfor the last two and able to speak with his family on video calls.