Las Vegas singer recalls presumed COVID-19 bout: ‘It was hell’

In his native Scotland, Jimmy Denning is known as a “lump.”

Around here, that means he’s a big guy.

But over the past couple of months, Denning has been less of a lump. He’s lost some 20 pounds, from his scale-tipping 303. The strapping, 6-foot-4-inch vocalist also lost his sense of taste and smell, capacity to breathe properly (and sometimes at all), stamina and balance.

He thought for a time he might not make it out of his COVID-19 experience alive.

“It was hell,” Denning says. “It was the sickest I’ve ever been.”

Denning is a singer in the classic-rock vocal band Tenors of Rock, which until being hustled offstage performed at Sin City Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort. The show has also headlined at Harrah’s Showroom in a Strip residency dating to January 2017.

The Tenors first visited Las Vegas in 2013, hunting for a venue and making inroads on the entertainment scene. Denning has been a constant in a shuffling lineup, easily identifiable by his imposing stature, red mohawk and the kilt he’s worn in every show.

And when you need someone to bust out “Whole Lotta Love,” Denning is your man.

But the rocker started feeling seriously ill in March, about a week after the Tenors were ordered off the stage. He sent word to his Facebook friends and followers that he was struggling against a “vile disease” and had never felt so sick. Over the next month he was in and out of the hospital, suffering from extreme fatigue, high fever and breathing problems.

“Imagine trying to breathe in and nothing happens, and you are suffocating,” Denning says. “It got to the point that leaving my bed was like the greatest achievement I’ve ever made. Three steps felt like running a marathon. It took me an hour to get down the steps. A ride in the car felt like the worst roller coaster you’ve ever been on. I mean, this is some serious (expletive).”

Suffice to say, Denning has broken ground during COVID-19. He had never been put on a ventilator before, which also happened for a few hours during this saga. His fever vaulted to 103 degrees. He’d never had to use an oxygen machine, or inhalers just to breathe.

And Denning had never eaten so many Salt & Vinegar Pringles potato chips.

“I couldn’t taste anything, except these chips,” Denning says.

Once, Denning sat upright for 15 straight hours, taking in oxygen — friends had delivered a portable unit, with a tank, into his bedroom. He lost the energy to move. He had said to his wife, Yvette Clutterbuck, the woman he refers to as his Florence Nightingale, “I can’t breathe. I mean, I really can’t breathe.”

“I was hoping I was only experiencing an anxiety attack,” Denning adds. “But I figured out if I just sat still I could at least take in oxygen.”

Clutterbuck also hung on during the roller-coaster ride.

“Around day eight or nine, I thought he was getting better, and then his oxygen crashed,” she says. “He couldn’t breathe. I genuinely thought he was going to die. I was awake for nearly four days to keep a check on him.”

Denning says he deduced he had coronavirus by those specific and widely reported symptoms. To this day he has not been formally tested for COVID-19, simply because that testing has not been available. Instead, he says he submitted “a load of tests” for other ailments, including the flu, and all came back negative.

The process of elimination led Denning’s doctors to treat him as COVID-19 positive. Denning’s own knowledge of his health made him a believer, too. He is working on being tested within the week to verify his status as someone who has recovered from COVID-19. He plans to submit to the Red Cross’ plasma-donation program for those still suffering.

Denning’s friends in the Vegas entertainment community bolstered his strength and lifted his spirits. There were routine grocery runs and a wave of messages of support. “This community is truly an amazing place,” Denning says. “I am one of the lucky ones who got over it.”

Denning is still returning to complete health. To attempt to sing is to cough, again. Denning is not yet strong enough to take part in any online shows with his Tenors bandmates: Jonathan Williams, Dai Richards, Dan Schumann, Andrew Freeman, Mark Boals and Paul Johnson.

“I see videos of all our friends singing, and people have asked us to do the same,” Denning says. “I’m still not there, but I’m coming back. I’m just thankful I’m here.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.