Leeds mum speaks of battle with suspected coronavirus

Debbie Ward, 39, is now recovering after being struck down for 10 days with symptoms closely matching those of the coronavirus which is sweeping the country and the globe.

Despite being unable to take a test - because of the Government's controversial decision only to test patients in hospital - she has agreed to share her experience, in the hope of giving a real-life insight into what was highly likely to have been the much-feared virus.

As of Wednesday morning, the total number of known cases in Britain had surpassed 8,000 but the true size of the outbreak is believed to be closer to the 400,000 mark, taking into account all those left untested.

The mum-of-one, of Otley, had been to London for a three-day conference, staying in a hotel near Heathrow, when not long after her return, she was struck down with a strong headache.

She said: "There were nearly 200 people at the conference. I shouldn't have gone. That was three weeks ago and then about ten days ago, I started getting the headache. I had it for about four days. It wasn't going away. It was like a migraine - I've never had one of those before. It felt like my head was in a vice."

On the fifth day, while at work, she started to feel more poorly and left to go home to bed.

"When I woke up I thought 'Oh God I feel ill' so I took my temperature and it was 39. I just thought 'oh no'.

"I felt achey and shivery, just like you normally would with a fever.

"And then the day after that I got a dry cough and ever since I've felt breathless. Even now, talking, I have to pause to breathe every now and then.

"I had a couple of spells of coughing - they say you aren't able to catch your breath and it feels like that. It feels like your lungs can't fill up enough. You can't take one big gulp of air to clear it.

"Even so, the cough wasn't as bad as I expected it to be but if you are someone with lung problems I can understand how you could end up hospitalised."

By the following Saturday evening, Debbie said she had started to feel better and hoped she was over the worse - before very quickly going back downhill.

"This temperature just came out of nowhere. It came up in seconds. I had to lie down, my eyes were starting to roll in my head.

"I started having a panic attack because I thought I was going to pass out.

"That was really hard - it took all of my mental strength to get in control of the panic. I just kept thinking I don't want to go into hospital and be on my own because you can't see anyone. My husband doesn't need that, I wouldn't be able to see my daughter."

It wasn't until Tuesday, March 24, that Debbie started to feel on the road to recovery - ten days after symptoms first hit.

She said: "It fits the pattern of coronavirus. I hope it was - as I can't imagine actually getting it on top of this, if this wasn't it."

The fact that she couldn't get a test to confirm it was coronavirus has meant her husband was not able to see his terminally-ill mother before the lockdown.

"I'm furious that I can't get a test. That would be invaluable for us."

Debbie criticised the lack of help and advice for those in her position - who are unable to get tests but suspect they have the virus - with 111 online offering little advice between either taking paracetamol or calling an ambulance.

"I went online to look at 111 when I first fell ill but it wasn't much help. You just put your details in and it tells you to take some paracetamol.

"It asks you if you are more breathless than you were yesterday and I ticked yes, because at the time I was, and it says ring an ambulance. I thought 'I'm not that breathless?'.

"I don't think the advice is great - they could put a lot more detail in there. It doesn't even say they want to register you as a case. It would have been nice if you could register with the GP as a case and they could give you a call or something - but I suppose they could be inundated with calls if they did that. But you're left to deal with it on your own."

She added: "People do need to take it seriously because it is worse than flu. You need to take self isolation seriously.

"But it's manageable - I know a lot of people are really scared about it and I would reassure them that it's not as scary as you think it's going to be.

"It's obviously worrying because it's so dangerous to some people. But in terms of getting it, it isn't nice at all but I don't think people should panic about it.

"Don't live in fear of it. But just take it very seriously."

Her advice for home remedies for anyone suffering similar symptoms is: "Paracetamol, sips of water, no caffeine - I tried to drink some coke and just felt more horrendous - and keep on top of your temperature. I also hardly ate anything which made me feel nauseous so I tried to have soup if I could."

Visit https://111.nhs.uk/service/COVID-19/ if you think you have coronavirus symptoms.