Virus left mum-of-three with asthma fearing for her life
A mum-of-three, who suffers from asthma, has told how she was left fearing for her life after contracting coronavirus.
Days after lockdown was announced on March 23, Alisar Taylor began to feel tired, her temperature rocketed and she was hit by a string of bad headaches.
Two days later she’d lost her sense of taste and smell, and breathing had become difficult.
The 43-year-old from Gateshead said: “I couldn’t get out of bed without struggling.
“Dan, my fiance, had to even bathe me and wash my hair as I couldn’t do these things without support.
“We could not control the temperature to the point I was shaking with it.”
A week later, Alisar began suffering with a bad cough and, as more symptoms began to appear, she self-isolated in a bid to protect her household.
As her symptoms worsened she began to worry further due to an underlying problem with asthma.
The director of True Colours Theatre said: “I was taking my inhaler literally every 20 minutes and still was struggling with breathing. I was even asking for every window to be opened to try and get air – I felt like I was suffocating.
“I was terrified to go to hospital and just wanted to get better as I thought I wouldn’t come back out.”
Five days later, following a video consultation, she was assessed at a Covid-19 hub in Blaydon before she was referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Almost three weeks since her symptoms began, a test confirmed she had contracted the deadly disease. Staff told Alisar that they were amazed at how long she had persevered with the conditions.
After being discharged from hospital, Alisar completed a two-week course of antibiotics and is on medication to help her asthma until her lungs have recovered from the disease.
Alisar said: “With having asthma on top of the infection in my chest, breathing was the biggest struggle for me.
“To say it was the scariest experience is so true but I am so thankful that I have the chance to make a difference and live my life again.”