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Recovering well Baie Verte woman who battled pneumonia caused by H1N1 soon to be released from hospital

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  • Recovering well Baie Verte woman who battled pneumonia caused by H1N1 soon to be released from hospital

    <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=10>Last updated at 10:17 AM on 14/01/10 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


    <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=245 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=3></TD><TD class=photoCaption>Contributed photo</TD><TD width=3></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3 height=3></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
    Recovering well
    Baie Verte woman who battled pneumonia caused by H1N1 soon to be released from hospital

    SARAH BURTON
    The Nor'wester


    Tracey Whitt is filled with joy at the thought of leaving the hospital to be home with her boyfriend and two children.

    The 33-year-old Baie Verte native has been in hospital for over two months battling pneumonia that was caused by the H1N1 virus. Her condition was so serious, that at one point she needed to be put onto a ventilator and put into an induced coma. But now Ms. Whitt is recovering well and is expected be released in the coming days.

    She explained how her ordeal began.

    "Halloween night I took my kids out and after I came home I was starting to get this strange cough," said Ms. Whitt. "It sounded like an asthmatic cough... I usually get it that time of year, so I didn't think anything of it. But I started feeling sick and I wouldn't give in to go to the hospital."

    After several visits to her doctor, Ms. Whitt sought attention for her cough at the hospital on November 3. This visit led to her having an X-ray the following morning.

    "So on November 4, I came back and the doctor called me into the office. He said my lungs were plugged with pneumonia and they had to send me right on to Grand Falls-Windsor in the ambulance.

    "After I got into the ambulance I had another cough and after about probably 10 minutes, I can't remember anything. I was in the ambulance looking up and I don't recall anything after that."

    Once in Grand Falls-Windsor, Ms. Whitt had an above normal temperature, was vomiting, fainting, and had all the symptoms associated with the swine flu, which was confirmed by swab testing. Later she was put into an induced coma. She was on a ventilator for about 18 days and then doctors inserted a tracheal breathing tube. Her boyfriend, Steve Dire, and her family were by her side, and it looked like she wasn't going to survive.

    "The doctors were very adamant that I wasn't going to make it because the virus was attacking every part of my body and my lungs were really bad," said Ms. Whitt. "I had scar tissue on my lungs. It was a very scary thing. I looked up at Steve when I came to, but I couldn't speak of course because of the trache, so I had to use a writing pad.

    "All I could do at that point was chicken scratches because when you're laid up for so long you loose your muscle tone. That's what I'm gaining back now. They're hoping next week that I should be released because I'm finally starting to walk now and I'm getting my strength back."

    Ms. Whitt underwent various treatments and physiotherapy while in hospital in Grand Falls-Windsor. She was later transferred to the Baie Verte Peninsula Health Centre December 23, just in time for the holidays.

    "I spent Christmas Day in here with my family. We opened our gifts here with the kids. The nurses said to me, 'were going to have to move the bed out into the hallway' because we had so many gifts here, and then my boyfriend's parents, brought in Christmas dinner. We had quite the time here - it was wonderful," she said.

    Because Ms. Whitt spent a lot of time in bed, she started to get bedsores. She also endured nerve damage to her legs.

    "They say now that I am doing extremely well. The nurses from Grand Falls-Windsor called out and they couldn't believe how much I have gotten better since I left, because in there I was stiff. I had no mobility at all, and I was depressed all the time, but I guess being in here with friends and family makes it easier, and I think that's what is giving me the strength to get up and go."

    "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
    -Nelson Mandela
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