A MUM who woke up from a Covid coma was stunned to discover she had given birth to a baby girl.
Laura Leece, 36, fell ill with the virus during the pandemic in 2021 but had no idea of what would happen next.
Her condition worsened to such an extent that she was sedated for an emergency C-section at 31 weeks, well ahead of her expected due date of October 15.
Laura, from Wigan, in Manchester, was told she nodded to consent to the birth before being put into a coma but has no recollection of it.
Her next memory was waking up seven weeks later, on September 30, to be greeted with the sight of the precious daughter she didn’t even know she’d had.
Born prematurely and weighing just 3lb 7oz at Royal Bolton Hospital, her daughter spent five weeks in the neonatal unit before returning home with dad John and brother William.
John hadn’t wanted to name their daughter without Laura there, referring to her as just “baby girl” until they were able to choose together, deciding on the name Hope.
Recounting the ordeal, Laura told Manchester Evening News: “It’s all very hazy now. I don’t really remember coming out of the coma. I remember they placed Hope next to me and I turned my head to look at her, but I couldn’t speak at that point.
“I was on that much medication at first, steroids and what not, it’s all a blur. I remember John bringing William to see me. It was his third birthday in the October and I’d not seen him since July so I got very emotional.”
Having had tracheostomy and feeding tubes fitted, it was two weeks before Laura was even able to speak and she’s since had to relearn how to do the most basic everyday activities.
When she arrived back home just a few weeks before Christmas, she still wasn’t able to climb the stairs.
But with physiotherapy and determination, Laura made incredible progress.
Just a few months later she was up the stairs and helping with bath time.
Missing out on those early milestones with Hope, now a lively three-year-old, was one of the reasons Laura wanted to do it all again and the couple are expecting a boy in March 2025.
The 36-year-old mum said: “We’re all looking forward to it so much. I missed out on so much with Hope – her first bottle, her first bath, I missed all of it and it still makes me emotional when I think about it.
“I’m even looking forward to the night feeds, although I probably won’t say that at the time. You never get those early bits back.
“It does upset me but I try to stay positive and look to the future and think I’m still here, she’s still got me and it could have been so much worse.”
Laura added: “It’s something I want for all of us, but I also needed to do this for me. I didn’t have the full experience last time and although I’m nervous, I’m mostly excited.”
After her initial treatment at the Royal Bolton, Laura was sent to Wythenshawe Hospital, where she spent 35 days of her coma on an ECMO machine – the highest level of life support.
Now back at work as a teaching assistant at Tyldesley Primary School, Laura, struggles a little with her breathing and is being checked for asthma.
She’s also been left with partial numbness in her left foot and the back of her leg, due to being immobile for such a long time.
Although she’s not able to do it right now, it didn’t stop her returning to the zumba classes she loves and she credits those with helping get her fitness back.
It comes after a surge in bugs in the UK over recent weeks.
The NHS recently warned of a “tidal wave” of flu infections amidst warnings of a “quad-demic” of converging winter viruses.
Claire Nevinson, Boots superintendent pharmacist, told Sun Health: “During the festive season we’re seeing an increase in the number of cases of viral respiratory illnesses such as the common cold, flu and Covid-19.
“This is often due to people spending more time indoors, making it easier for the viruses to spread.”
Even if doesn’t cause as serious of an illness in most people as it did a few years ago, Covid is still about.
Recent data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that Covid-19 is still “circulating at baseline levels”, though cases have decreased in recent weeks.
