'It inspired me to help others': Young mum who survived Covid coma vows to become ICU nurse

A young mum who was put into a coma after she contracted coronavirus and had to give birth to her baby at 30 weeks says the care she received has inspired her to become an ICU nurse.

Ellie Wright, from Walsall, was put on a ventilator and then had to have a tracheostomy.

One year on and she's still recovering from the ordeal which left her unable to walk.

The 21-year-old says she still struggles to move but she's happy to be "hobbling around the house".

"It is all a bit overwhelming," says Ellie, "pictures pop up on Facebook memories and I just think 'I don't remember any of this'."

"Physically it's been bad," Ellie says, "but emotionally I've actually been fine."

She says she has "anxiety here and there" but she has largely been "really resilient" which she thinks is a trait that will help her in her chosen future career.

"Just seeing how much they inspired me has inspired me to help others"

Ellie says the care she received while she was in Walsall Manor Hospital, particularly when she was in ICU, was second to none.

In fact, the nurses looked after Ellie so well she says she cried when she had to leave ICU and be moved to a different ward.

"They made me that comfortable I didn't want to leave," she explains. "They said 'you can't go straight home from ICU, you need to be on another ward first' but I didn't want to go, I didn't want to leave them."

"They were amazing," she continues. "When I was in there, after I had the tracheostomy, I had to be suctioned. It's where they suction everything off your chest and I hated it, it was like they were dragging the life out of you, it was horrible.

"But the nurses would say 'right come on, when we've done this we're going to paint your nails', or they'd do my hair. They were just brilliant."

"The army were there too and they were great as well," she says. "I couldn't really move so they would help to move me from the bed to the chair."

The mum of one explained how she was already considering going into nursing but she wasn't sure which route to go down.

She says she now has no doubt that she wants to be a nurse on an ICU ward.

"Just seeing how much they inspired me has inspired me to help others," she explains.

Ellie is still recovering and says she needs to be fully fit before she can properly commit to any training.

"My physio says I will get better but they don't know how long it will be, it could be years," says Ellie, "but as soon as I'm back on my feet I'm going to look into it."

"I think I would have given up if I didn't have Leo"

Ellie's son, Leo, celebrated his 1st birthday on January 12.

"He was little when he was born but he's huge now," says Ellie, "he's in his 12-18months clothes which is where he should be in terms of growth, he's absolutely fine."

"He just wants to be with you," she says as she fondly describes her son. "He loves cooking with me, if you're cooking he wants to be held so he can mix the stuff."

Ellie adds: "He's gone for his 1 year injections today though so I'm expecting him to be quite grumpy when he gets back!"

"I'm not spending my 21st in hospital"

Ellie celebrated her 21st birthday on 1 May 2021, the month after she finally got out of hospital.

She says her birthday was the first time she left the house since she was discharged and she built up the strength to manage "a few steps outside".

She was surprised by a group of family and friends who were all wearing #TeamEllie T-shirts to show their support.

She says another family member set up a GoFundMe page and she's using the money towards her and Leo's first holiday this July.

"We're only going to Skegness," she says, "I don't want to push it too far, but it will be nice and it's his first holiday."