Coma new mum leaves hospital after 12 months
A PREGNANT woman who caught Covid, had an emergency C-section and was then immediately placed in a coma has returned home – after more than a year in hospital.
Nicoleta Tuna, 30, never got the chance to hold her daughter for four months while she was unconscious.
Her husband Mike was twice told to say goodbye to his wife.
On Thursday, Nicoleta was applauded by nurses as she left Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambs, to return home to Thea, now one, Mike and their six-year-old son.
She told how her wish to see her children grow up was the turning point in her recovery.
Nicoleta from Colchester, Essex, said: “Nobody expected me to live. I was so, so poorly.
“One of the doctors asked what my last wish was. I started to cry and said, ‘I want to live with my kids, this is my last wish’.
“The doctor said, ‘OK, this is the best answer’. And after that I started to fight.” Nicoleta, who was unvaccinated, caught Covid in October 2021 when she was 36 weeks pregnant.
Her condition deteriorated rapidly and she was initially admitted to Colchester Hospital in late October.
After the C-section and being put into a coma, she was transferred to the Royal Papworth, to be put on mechanical breathing support.
She awoke from her coma on February 22, 2022. She said: “I couldn’t believe it, it was too much.”
In an emotional goodbye, Nicoleta was joined by her husband and two children to say farewell to her “second family”. Nicoleta, originally from Romania, was helped by nurses to improve her English.
She said: “It has been difficult… But I can now spend the rest of my life with my children and my husband, thanks to all of the people at Royal Papworth.”
NICOLETA Tuna’s miraculous recovery after contracting Covid while pregnant is a credit to the remarkable NHS staff who cared for her.
She’s now able to spend time with her one-year-old daughter and six-year-old son, after returning home to her husband and family. May they have a great many happy years together.