Mum who ‘died’ FIVE times after common bug turned out to be deadly swine flu is urging people to get the flu jab
A MOTHER has told of how she "died" five times after what she thought was a common bug turned out to be the potentially deadly swine flu.
Pam Davies spent six weeks in an induced coma, during which time her heart stopped five times and she had to be brought back to life.
The 54-year-old had caught the flu in March, but it mutated into the potentially deadly H1N1 virus - something that happens only rarely.
During the coma, her bowel perforated - requiring emergency surgery, she developed a blood clot in her leg and nearly died from sepsis.
When Pam finally awoke, she was almost four stone lighter and her muscles had wasted.
She couldn't stand up and her left arm didn't work, so she had to undergo intensive therapy and learn to walk again.
Her hair fell out as her body reacted to the shock of all she had endured, but remarkably she was discharged from hospital in July.
Pam, who is from Hull, East Yorkshire, had originally stayed off work sick for a week, thinking she had the regular flu, but her condition worsened.
She went to see her GP, who took one look at her and called an ambulance.
Pam said: "As soon as they brought me in, I thought I was going to be all right. Everyone knew what they were doing and they suspected straight away what was wrong with me.
"They put me in a side room and I didn't realise it at the time but they obviously thought I had swine flu, which is highly infectious. They took swabs, blood and gave me a massive oxygen mask, which covered my entire face.
"My body had already started to fail at that point and they arranged for the ICU consultant to come and see me and I was in ICU by 1.30pm."
Now, Pam wants people to understand the importance of getting the flu jab to prevent the same thing happening to them.
What happened to me was a massive wake-up call to a lot of people. I was one of those who never thought I needed it because I was so well. If I had been any older, the doctors have told me I wouldn't have survived
Pam Davies
She said: "What happened to me was a massive wake-up call to a lot of people. I was one of those who never thought I needed it because I was so well.
"If I had been any older, the doctors have told me I wouldn't have survived."
Pam, who is chief executive of Age UK in Hull, added: "The speed with which A&E staff helped me was phenomenal. They were so calm, so professional and just amazing.
"A&E is for people who are really poorly or who have been in car crashes and accidents who need emergency help or they will die.
"It's not for people with sore eyes or a bad cold. We need people to realise there are other places they can go to get things like that sorted.
"We all need to educate ourselves on where else we can go to help A&E."
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Pam is now on the road back to health, with the support of daughter Megan, 23, and her 80-year-old mum, Brenda, who moved in with her for a month once she was sent home from hospital to help her regain her strength.
She returned to her job at Age UK under a phased return on November 7, working three hours a day, three days a week, to help her regain her strength.
She said: "They say every day of critical illness means a month of recovery and I was critically ill for 46 days.
"But the doctors are really pleased with my progress - they can't believe how far I've come so quickly."