A British mum found out that her 'long Covid' was actually something a lot worse, leaving her 'minutes away from death'.
Sam Lewis, a mother-of-three, had gone to the doctors three times with complaints about pain in her chest, which started in 2021.
She was first told she had costochondritis, which is an inflammation of the breastbone, though the pain returned in March 2022, but health experts told her that she just had long Covid.
It turned out though, that it was a flesh-eating disease doing the damage.
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Later in March 2022, the pain persisted, so on her third trip to the hospital, she was taken for a CT scan, which revealed that a gallstone was blocking her bile duct.
The 38-year-old's pancreas had become inflamed, resulting in pancreatitis, and it led to Lewis being hospitalised, with the condition soon becoming necrotising - a flesh-eating disease.
This bacterial infection sees parts of your body's soft tissue being destroyed.
After being put in intensive care, her family were informed that she might not make it, as she recalled that it was a 'scary' situation.
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Luckily, she made it through after her time in Bournemouth Hospital, though she developed sepsis and had to be taken to Southampton Hospital.
She said: "They didn't think I would make I through the night."
Deciding to put her in an induced coma, doctors removed dead tissue and half of her pancreas to help with survival chances.
The mum ended up spending six months in hospital.
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She said: "At one point I was minutes away from death.
"Pancreatitis is evil and it can take you.
"My whole body swelled up, my gallstone was attacking my pancreas,
"I looked so swollen I looked like I was eight months pregnant.
"I couldn't move my ankles."
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She returned home in August 2022, and suffers from chronic pancreatitis, where the organ is permanently damaged due to inflammation.
Her strict low carb diet prevents her from ever having some British staples, such as a fry up.
Lewis explained: "It's something I have to live with.
"I used to love my food.
"I used to love going out. Now I refrain from going anywhere in case I get a flare up."
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The mother said that chocolate, crisps, or anything from the bakery was off limits.
A year after leaving hospital, she was back walking properly, though she has yet to return to work.
With Christmas approaching, she did admit: "This year I'm really excited for Christmas.
"I'm ready to really enjoy it."
Topics: Health, UK News, Food And Drink, Parenting, Coronavirus, Home
Joshua Nair