Leeds Covid patient Kelli Day's long road to recovery

Kelli Day said she "cherishes" time with family and friends

A woman who spent 31 days in hospital with Covid has said she is still struggling with the long-term effects of the disease.

Kelli Day, 51, from Leeds, was admitted to hospital in December 2020 and she spent 11 days in intensive care.

A year on from her time in hospital, Mrs Day said she was "still struggling with my breathing and walking".

She attends a Long Covid rehabilitation clinic twice a week and has been told she might never fully recover.

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Difficulties with her breathing and mobility were not the only results of her time in hospital with Covid.

She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has difficulty swallowing due to the time she spent on a feeding tube.

She said: "I am frustrated because I can't do what I want to do and what I used to do, but they've said I have to get that out of my head because I might not get back there."

Kelli Day said she thought she would die in hospital

Mrs Day said when she was admitted to hospital she believed she would die.

"I was so tired of fighting, fighting to live, fighting for my breath.

"I reckon if I had given up at that moment I would have gone, because I just couldn't breathe," she said.

Mrs Day said the experience had made her appreciate the simpler things in life such as spending time with family and friends.

"I seem to cherish it more and look forward to it, because you never know when it is going to be taken away from you."

Although Mrs Day is still struggling with the impact of the disease, she said she was aware she was lucky to have survived.

"I am here. A lot didn't make it," she said.