‘I had to beat Covid-19 to get back to my daughter’: Northampton mum speaks out after two-month ordeal

A mum who spent more than two months in hospital battling Covid-19 says she had to beat the virus to get back to her daughter.

Caroline Bailey, from Kingsthorpe, was shielding due to her asthma when her partner and daughter caught the virus.

Both her loved ones recovered at home, but Caroline suffered badly and was taken to Northampton General Hospital by ambulance after she called out of hours when she was struggling to breathe.

The 35-year-old was admitted to hospital on Easter Saturday (April 11) when her oxygen levels were extremely low.

Caroline spent nine days on a ward receiving oxygen, before being taken to the intensive care unit (ITU) after it was discovered she had a punctured lung.

During the 24 days she spent in ITU, Caroline says she came close to losing her life, twice.

Caroline said: “I was in a coma and on a ventilator for 12 days.

“It was touch and go twice during that time.

“I remember hearing my partner’s and my mum’s voices. You really can hear everything. Hearing people’s voices really helps.

“I had one dream where my body had hit the sand and I was becoming part of the sand, then I heard my mum’s voice then my partner’s and that was enough for me to think ‘no you need to keep going’.”

Caroline was woken up from the coma gradually and then spent a further four days in a high dependency unit before being tested again.

Once the test came back negative, Caroline was taken to a Covid-safe ward where she started her recovery.

She added: “In the ITU, I could only move my hands. I couldn’t sit up or move my arms.

“It affected my speech and my eating. I couldn’t move anything so I was taken to a ward for physio.

“After a week, they decided that I needed rehab, so I was transferred to Daventry for a week and a half.

“I literally had to learn to do everything again; talk, walk and eat.”

Nurses and doctors worked with Caroline to teach her how to walk once again, which meant she was finally allowed home to reunite with her 10-year-old daughter, who she credits as the reason she fought through the deadly virus.

“I owe the doctors and nurses my life. They were amazing,” Caroline continued.

“I can’t fault any of the care I received. They got me through some of the scariest times of my life.

“I had to get home to my daughter.

“I’ve always been a strong willed person and I’ve gone through quite a lot in my life.

“I knew I wanted to get home for my daughter. She doesn’t have her real dad in her life so for me to leave her as well would have been horrible.”

After just over eight weeks in hospital, Caroline was discharged on June 10 and is now continuing her recovery at home.

“I can walk on my own, but only just as I need a stick,” Caroline said.

“From my sofa to my downstairs toilet is not far, but I can only just manage that and I have to crawl up the stairs.

“It’s hard work.

“Hopefully I will recover fully, I may have weaknesses and it could take up to a year to get my strength back.”

As she continues to battle the issues the virus has left her with, Caroline says she gets ‘opinionated’ when she sees pictures of packed beaches.

“The virus is not to be taken lightly. You need to be careful and if you start to struggle get help as soon as you possibly can,” she added.

“It does not just cause virus issues, it gives you other issues too.

“I will have life-long problems. I will never be back to what I was completely.

“It affected everywhere. I’m on beta blockers and I had Bell’s palsy during my time in hospital, which is the closest thing to a stroke.

“I have watched people die from it - it’s not nice and it can take anybody out.”

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