‘I felt like I was dying’
A MUM-OF-FIVE says she felt like she was dying after being struck down with the Delta strain of coronavirus.
Donna Binns, 40, has been ill since May 17 when she first contracted the virus and became seriously ill.
The Delta variant, first identified in India, has taken over from the Kent strain as the most dominant in the UK.
Now discharged from hospital, Donna wants to warn others that the virus is still ‘very real.’
At first Donna, from Compstall, Stockport, felt like she had the flu.
Yet eight days into her illness, she was struggling to breathe and was taken to hospital via an ambulance.
Medics at Stepping Hill Hospital carried out a chest X-ray, confirming the mum had Covid-19.
She was sent home, but on day 11 of her illness collapsed at the bottom of the stairs.
Her husband Andy called an ambulance and she was rushed back to Stepping Hill.
“My breathing became very shallow because I felt like I had no oxygen, “she explained.
“It feels like your chest is being crushed. It’s the scariest thing I have ever been through.”
Tests confirmed her oxygen levels were extremely low and she was placed in a room by herself. She was swabbed for the Delta variant of coronavirus, formerly known as the Indian strain.
“They told me that the level of infection in my blood was well over the odds,” said Donna.
“There weren’t any Covid wards open when I was admitted for the second time, so at first I was in a side room on my own.
“After a week the Covid ward was re-opened and I was moved onto there.
“Even though I was on oxygen it started to affect my bladder, liver and kidneys.
“I think that’s why I felt so poisoned by it. I couldn’t walk or hardly talk because I was so breathless.
“I actually rang my brother and told him I thought that I was dying. I was traumatised by what was happening.”
Donna, who owns Kiddiwinks Nursery in Woodley, spent two weeks in hospital until she was stable enough to go home on June 8.
Doctors warned her it could take three months for her to fully recover.
The mum-of-five, who had not had her first jab when she fell ill, is still breathless and now suffering from brain fog.
Her husband Andy, and four of her children, Bradley, six, Skye, nine, Jayden, 11 and Amber, 12, all tested positive for the same strain, while her eldest son, Arron, 20, tested negative.
Andy, 46, and Amber had symptoms but recovered relatively quickly as Donna became more ill.
There have been no confirmed cases at the couple’s nursery. Donna, who acts as director, had not been to Kiddiwinks before or during her illness so as not to interfere with the staff and children’s bubbles.
She admits having previously being naive about the virus, and now wants to warn people of the seriousness of the Delta variant.
She added: “I want people to realise that this virus is still very real and can make you so ill.
“I think it’s really brought it home to my friends and family how serious it can be. I have had all the symptoms and I’m still on a cocktail of medication.
“I can see the kids staring at me sometimes wondering what’s happened to me.
“My eldest daughter has been amazing - she’s been looking after me and doing my hair.
“It really does put life in perspective.”