from datetime import timedelta

def convert_to_timedelta(time_val):
  """
  From: code.activestate.com/recipes/577894-convert-strings-like-5d-and-60s-to-timedelta-objec

  Given a *time_val* (string) such as '5d', returns a timedelta object
  representing the given value (e.g. timedelta(days=5)).  Accepts the
  following '<num><char>' formats:

  =========   ======= ===================
  Character   Meaning Example
  =========   ======= ===================
  s           Seconds '60s' -> 60 Seconds
  m           Minutes '5m'  -> 5 Minutes
  h           Hours   '24h' -> 24 Hours
  d           Days    '7d'  -> 7 Days
  =========   ======= ===================

  Examples::

      >>> convert_to_timedelta('7d')
      datetime.timedelta(7)
      >>> convert_to_timedelta('24h')
      datetime.timedelta(1)
      >>> convert_to_timedelta('60m')
      datetime.timedelta(0, 3600)
      >>> convert_to_timedelta('120s')
      datetime.timedelta(0, 120)
  """
  num = int(time_val[:-1])
  if time_val.endswith('s'):
    return timedelta(seconds=num)
  elif time_val.endswith('m'):
    return timedelta(minutes=num)
  elif time_val.endswith('h'):
    return timedelta(hours=num)
  elif time_val.endswith('d'):
    return timedelta(days=num)
  else:
    raise ValueError('Unknown suffix on timedelta: %s' % time_val)