THIS heart-warming video captures an NHS nurse leaving intensive care – after spending two weeks in a coma battling coronavirus.
Pat Johnson, 57, was clapped by colleagues as she left the ITU at Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent – where she works as a ward manager.
The grandmother-of-three first fell ill in March when she developed a high temperature – but initially tested negative for Covid-19.
However, while she was self-isolating at home, Pat’s condition dramatically deteriorated and, after contacting her GP, paramedics decided to rush her straight to hospital.
Her worried family were forced to wait at home for news and doctors soon decided to place her on a ventilator and in an induced coma.
Before the procedure was carried out, Pat, from Deal, Kent, was able to send a message to her family through WhatsApp, telling them how much she loved them.
She said: “I think as a healthcare professional I knew immediately how serious it was. Particularly when they had to intubate me and put me on a ventilator.
“I knew I was sick, but to hear I was so sick I needed a ventilator made me realise I might not make it.
“There was definitely a realisation I could die, and that was very scary.”
Once she was taken off the ventilator but still in intensive care, Pat’s husband, Max, was able to video-call her as family were not allowed to visit.
Pat, who has worked as a nurse for nearly 40 years, added: “It was definitely hardest for my family. They had a call to say I was being intubated and then they couldn’t see me until I came home.
“But the care and compassion the ITU staff showed them was incredible and really helped.”
When Pat was finally able to leave intensive care, her colleagues from across the hospital lined the corridors to applaud her – a moment she has dubbed “overwhelming”.
In the clip taken at the end of last month, she can be seen being pushed down the hospital corridor in a wheelchair and wearing a face mask as she waved to friends and workmates.
She said: “I still can’t watch the video, it is too emotional.
“I am so lucky to work with such lovely and caring people. I consider myself blessed.
“The support has continued since I have been home, with so many flowers, cards, and presents. It has really helped me feel positive.
“I still tire very quickly but I am getting stronger each day. When they said it would take a long time to recover, I thought I would be different but I am learning to be patient.
“I know the teams are working so hard and so well together to help each other out and get through it. I miss them and I will definitely be back as soon as I am well enough.”
Pat, whose team works with patients following hip and knee replacement operations, said the love and support she had from family, friends and colleagues gave her strength to fight the virus.
“There are not enough words to describe how kind people have been,” she said.
“Even on the day they needed to intubate me, when I thought I might not make it, I still felt safe and cared for.
“I don’t think I would have made it without the support I have received.”
Last month, a top doctor warned that nurses have been forced “to hold their breath” as medics are using “kids’ school goggles” because of the lack of equipment.
Dr Rinesh Parmar, of the Doctors’ Association, said there are still major issues surrounding the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).
He told the Sophy Ridge On Sunday show that NHS staff are having to reuse eye masks and added that some nurses doing high-risk procedures are “having to hold their breath”.
Dr Parmar added that a survey conducted by his organisation has found that almost half of doctors say they have no eye protection at all.
He said he had also heard from doctors who said they have been forces to reuses masks and they should be single use only.
He added: “Nurses are doing some of these high risk procedures because they’re unsure whether the masks they’ve been provided with is going to offer them adequate protection.”
