Covid: Doctor, 41, tells of recovery from two-month coma

Dr Anushua Gupta said she never thought she would see her daughter again

A 41-year-old doctor who made a "miracle" recovery from Covid after being in a coma for two months has warned "we are not out of the woods".

Dr Anushua Gupta, from Cheshire, said she said final goodbyes to her family before being induced into a coma when her condition worsened.

She said she was "petrified" and, while treatment saved her life, her road to recovery had been difficult.

Dr Gupta said people "should take heed" dangers of the Indian variant.

Three days after being admitted to Wythenshawe Hospital on 1 April 2020, Dr Gupta was transferred to intensive care for ventilation.

"My worst fears were coming true," she said.

"I telephoned my husband Ankur, and asked to see our daughter Ariana - just 18-months-old at that time - on a video call.

"Inside I was thinking I'm not going to be able to see my daughter, I'm not going to be able to see her entire adult life, I won't be able to live my life with my husband. It was terrible."

Dr Gupta, whose case is published in the journal Anaesthesia Reports, was placed on life support as her condition worsened.

Dr Anushua Gupta said final goodbyes to her family through a video call

She said: "My husband was requested to come in to discuss further treatment because I was just not making much progress."

The GP was one of the first patients in the UK to be treated for coronavirus with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, equipment which takes over the function of the lungs and is seen as a last resort option.

After a few days, Dr Gupta started making improvements, which doctors told her was a "miracle".

"When I woke up from the coma was I realised that I had no voice. I couldn't speak, I couldn't swallow, I couldn't move my arms, my legs. I felt like I was paralysed," she said.

The GP said her "recovery is by no means complete" and added she feels like she now continues to have symptoms described as long-Covid.

"Now I just appreciate life in a completely different way. Every day's a blessing," she said.

"My motive is not to provide anyone with a scare story or a horror story, but it's really to let people know that this virus is very good at mutating and changing."

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