Mum wakes up from coronavirus induced coma to discover she's pregnant with twins
A mum-of-three has woken up from a coronavirus induced coma to discover she is pregnant with twins.
Danielle Martin, 32, from Belfast, Northern Ireland was left fighting for her life when she was rushed to hospital while nine weeks pregnant.
Though she was initially diagnosed with pneumonia, tests revealed she was actually suffering from coronavirus.
But after ten days in an induced coma, the “living nightmare” turned to joy when doctors revealed that she and partner Bryan, 32, are expecting not one, but two babies.
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The stay-at-home-mum’s illness initially began with a sore throat, which lead to her suffering from a bad chest.
Danielle assumed it was just a chest infection but after six days found she was struggling to breathe.
“It felt like I was suffocating so Bryan decided to call an ambulance who came within five minutes and took me away - I was terrified,” she explains.
Scans at the hospital initially revealed Danielle was suffering from severe pneumonia and she was put onto a ventilator.
But overnight Danielle took a turn for the worst and her oxygen levels dropped leaving doctors with no choice but to put her into an induced coma.
Bryan says the doctor rang to say Danielle was spotting and it was highly unlikely the baby would survive as it was still very early in the pregnancy.
“It is crazy how quick things can take a turn for the worse,” Bryan, a security guard, explains.
“One day Danielle was sending me photos telling me about the toast she was eating in hospital, the next she was in ICU.
“The doctor rang to say her oxygen had dropped and she’s been put into an induced coma - I was devastated and worried sick.
“It was a living nightmare knowing she was fighting for her life and our unborn baby too.”
Bryan says it was also difficult explaining to the couple’s sons, Jaiden, nine, Parker, three and Joshua, two, where their mummy was, particularly as they had seen her be taken to hospital in the ambulance.
“I had to put on a brave face and reassure them she will be fine and be home in no time,” he explains.
“The hospital rang me daily with updates but it was always up and down, one day it would be good news and the next bad.
“I was hoping she would pull through with all my heart.”
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Thankfully, Danielle did start to get better and doctors were able to start weaning the mum-to-be off the ventilator.
After ten days in an induced coma, Danielle was shocked to be told she was actually expecting twins.
“I woke up feeling very confused an agitated from the coma but once I had came round, I was extremely grateful,” she explains.
“I was in disbelief when they told me about the twins - it was the cherry on top of the cake knowing I had beat coronavirus and have twins on the way!
“It is a random way to find out you’re expecting two babies but at least we will be able to remember something good about this horrible time.”
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Bryan learnt he was soon to be a father of twins when Danielle was moved to a ward to recover and rang her husband to tell him both babies were fine.
“I was like ‘both?’,” he says. “At first I thought maybe she is still a little confused from everything she had been through.
“But when she said twins, I was so happy and grinning from ear to ear.”
Danielle, who hadn’t been out for ten days prior to catching the virus, says she feels “incredibly lucky” to have survived coronavirus and now wants to urge others to stay at home as it “could happen to anyone.”
“I am recovering with plenty of rest and hoping my friends and family are doing the same,” she says.
Bryan has set up a fundraiser for Nightingale hospital to give something back after they helped his partner and unborn babies.
