A mum-of-three has been reunited with her family after surviving two comas, a double stroke, sepsis and pneumonia during a seven-week battle against coronavirus.
Hospital worker Teresa Gray, from Edinburgh, fell ill with the virus on the first official day of lockdown.
Mrs Gray told STV News: “They say I’ve been the longest person in the hospital with Covid-19.”
‘They say I’ve been the longest person in the hospital with Covid-19.’
Teresa Gray
Doctors at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh were so concerned about the 50-year-old’s condition – they immediately placed her in a coma.
Mrs Gray then developed sepsis and pneumonia while unconscious and eventually woke up three weeks later.
Mrs Gray, who works at Edinburgh’s Liberton Hospital, was able to give medics a wave as she was moved out of intensive care but days later, she had to return after suffering seizures and two mild strokes.
She said: “They keep telling me I might have nightmares so I’ve got to watch out for them. I have had a wee bit of flashbacks but I don’t know if there were real or not.”
Her husband James was only allowed to speak to her on the phone after she had come out of her coma.
He said: “The nurses were just holding the phone to her ear so we could speak but she couldn’t really speak, gradually she was building it back up.
“She spoke maybe about five days after that.”
He told STV News the first thing his wife said to him after waking up was “come and get me”.
However, as Mrs Gray continued to fight off infection after infection, the family received more devastating news – her father had died after contracting the virus.
Mr Gray said: “He was only in hospital for about three days and then he passed away.
“Then two hours I found out she [Teresa] had sepsis and I didn’t want to tell her mum.”
The last time Mrs Gray saw her dad, Ivor, was at her 50th birthday party. Around a week after the celebration, they both fell ill.
‘When he [James] came in to tell me about my dad, I just sort of slipped to the floor and the nurses and doctors had to pick me up. ‘
Teresa Gray
Mrs Gray said: “When he [James] came in to tell me about my dad, I just sort of slipped to the floor and the nurses and doctors had to pick me up.
“Then we watched the video in here of his funeral together. My mum came up two days later because she was worried about me. “
Mrs Gray has now been given all the clear and with the help of physiotherapy, is slowly regaining her strength.
As she arrived outside her Portobello home, her family and friends showed their support.
‘I’m like a cat with nine lives.’
Teresa Gray
She said: “The last two weeks I’ve done really well. I’ve come off the walking sticks and started walking myself.
“I can climb stairs and do a bit of exercise so they are quite proud of me. It’s been a long seven weeks, I’ve been really missing the family.”
Mr Gray responded: “A long seven weeks for me, you didn’t know how long it was!”
Mrs Gray added: “He thought I wont make it through. I’m like a cat with nine lives.”
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