She is looking forward to getting back to being a nurse and caring for people.
A senior nurse has been discharged from hospital to the sound applaud after being given a “second chance at life”.
Ayesha Oralnda, a Senior Sister on the trusts Acute Dialysis Unit, was brought into hospital suffering from the virus in May and was initially cared for in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where she needed to be put on a ventilator as she was critically ill.
After 40 days in a coma, she was eventually well enough to be transferred to a ward to continue her recovery, from where she was discharged on Monday afternoon.
In total, she spent 67 days in hospital and staff gathered to applaud her leaving their care.
Over 300 health and social care workers are believed to have died from COVID-19.
Ms. Orlanda, said: “I want to extend my gratitude to all the staff who cared for me – they kept me alive, kept encouraging me and were there for me. I feel like I have been given a second chance at life. I am one of the lucky ones.
“I learnt a lot from this journey – it’s really hard to be a patient when you’re a nurse! I understand so much now about how important it is to be there for your patients, to spend time talking to them and to try and slow down. Be patient with your patients.”
Ayesha’s husband, Asif, spent time with her, holding her hand, while she was in ICU and was there as she left hospital.
She is now looking forward to being back home to continue her recuperation and eventually get back to the job she loves – being a nurse and caring for people.
Matron for Cardiology and Respiratory, Sonya Tetley, whose team looked after Ayesha, said: “We are absolutely delighted to see Ayesha being discharged today. She’s been in hospital a long time and it’s been very traumatic for her, but she’s made a brilliant recovery and we are very proud of her.”