Page Nav

HIDE

Pages

Classic Header

{fbt_classic_header}

Breaking News:

latest

Linda Lusardi, 61, breaks down in tears as she details fearing she would die in emotional first TV appearance since 'horrendous' battle with coronavirus

Linda Lusardi broke down in tears as she recalled her 'horrendous' battle with coronavirus on Wednesday's Good Morning Britai...

Linda Lusardi broke down in tears as she recalled her 'horrendous' battle with coronavirus on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain.
The model, 61, admitted she thought she was going to die of the deadly disease when she was rushed to hospital and placed on oxygen in her first TV interview since recovering from the virus.
Linda went onto praise NHS staff for their incredible care and 'giving her her life back' after she and husband Sam Kane tested positive for coronavirus.



Linda told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid she first started to display symptoms of COVID-19 when her husband Sam contracted the virus.

She explained: 'He was very very ill and I was looking after him, but I was sleeping in bed with him because we didn't realise what he had actually got, and then I contracted it, and then he felt he was getting better and started looking after me.' 
Adding that her husband's condition suddenly deteriorated, Linda explained they were both suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea, but after phoning 111 were simply told to self-isolate.
Suffering: The model admitted she thought she was going to die of the deadly disease when she was rushed to hospital and placed on oxygen
Suffering: The model admitted she thought she was going to die of the deadly disease when she was rushed to hospital and placed on oxygen
But when she started to suffering for breathlessness and chest pains, her son Jack advised they phone an ambulance.
She continued: 'Two lady ambulance drivers came did some tests and I'd got zero oxygen in my blood and tested Sam and said his was really bad as well, my poor son watched as we were marched out of the door with paramedics.'
When asked how she coped with battling the deadly disease, Linda fought back tears as she admitted at one point she thought she was going to die.
She told Piers and Susanna: 'It absolutely horrendous, I thank god that I'm one of the lucky ones that came through it.
'Sam and I were both in A and E at the beginning and we just looked at each other and thought ''are we gonna make it through this?'' 
'I tested negative first of all and the Doctor came in and he washed his hands and I asked him am I gonna make it though this. 
'He said ''you're 61 we don't know what we're dealing with.'' I texted Sam and said can you come up and see me because I don't know if I'm gonna make it through this.'
Linda said that it was her husband's support that helped her to stay strong during her battle with COVID-19, adding: 'Because he had tested positive and I tested positive by then, one of the workers downstairs wheeled him up and he held my hand and said you need to think about the children they can't lose their mum. 
'It helped. I helped me to be stronger.'
At one point Linda admitted she was told she may have to be moved to intensive care and be placed on a ventilator to increase her oxygen levels which left her extremely fearful.
'I was on 30% oxygen, and on the fourth day they said I think you'll have to go into intensive care. My oxygen levels were coming up a bit, and they said we'll keep you on here.
'I can't thank them enough, Eric and Sue and the people that held my hand, they were unbelievable in there, this was all a while back and they've got PPE now, they were coming in with just plastic and little things around their faces.'
Linda went onto explain that since being discharged from hospital she's gone from strength to strength with the support of her husband and two children. 
'Jack had had a mild affect of it, and he and Sam drove to the hospital, when I was being wheeled towards him I just broke down, and I sat in the garden listening to the bird and held Jack and said I'm so glad I'm still here,' she said. 
Linda went onto urge viewers to follow social distancing guidelines ahead of the Easter Weekend, warning people could be spreading the coronavirus without even knowing.
She said: 'If you're socialising with people, you might get the germs mildly yourself, but you might give them to your mother, your sister, do you want them to go through that?'
Continuing to praise the National Health Service, she continued: 'I can't thank you enough for your care and attention, I know how scared you are, you are the front line and without you more people would be dying, I just thank you for giving me my life back. 
'I wasn't getting preferential treatment, they had no idea I was, the care they gave me was the care they would've given any 61-year-old.' 
On Friday Linda confirmed that she had been discharged from hospital and was now recovering at home in London, writing on Instagram: 'So good to be home. Keep safe. Stay in and try to keep positive in this troubled time.'
It comes after Linda admitted her COVID-19 symptoms made her feel like she 'wanted to die' after she and her husband Sam contracted with virus.
The former glamour girl said that she felt full of despair before being rushed to hospital.
Linda revealed that at one stage she could feel herself 'drifting away' and doctors told her that they couldn't guarantee she would survive the illness.
After being discharged from hospital, Linda spoke to The Sun, and said: 'It got to the stage where both of us were praying we wouldn't wake up because it was so bad.'
Her husband Sam, 51, added: 'We just looked at each other and said, "Look, we can't take this anymore", adding that they weren't sure if they would live or die.'
Sam said that he thinks he may have caught the virus during a business meeting and passed it onto his wife while she cared for him in their home. 
Linda revealed that her symptoms began with a fever and feeling rough before she began deteriorating to the point where she wanted to make herself sick to feel relief.
The couple's son Jack, 20, made the decision to call an ambulance for them where they were given oxygen and driven to hospital.
Linda, who was left fearing that she would never see her children again, said: 'I was lying on the bed and had my arm over my head and thought, "I'm going, this is it, I could feel myself drifting away."
The former Page 3 girl is now back at home following her hospital stay and said she still feels tired and sometimes breathless as she recovers from the virus.
Sam recently praised the National Health Service for their incredible work while updating followers on Linda's condition. 
Linda and Sam's daughter Lucy had previously lauded NHS staff for helping her parents through their respective coronavirus battles. 
She wrote on Instragram: 'I would like to say a personal thank you to all the wonderful staff that nursed my amazing dad back to health and all the staff currently looking after my beautiful mum, helping her recover from this awful virus...
'You're all incredible. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.'

No comments