A FIT and healthy mum who caught coronavirus has warned of its dangers in a chilling video from her hospital bed.
Tara Jane Langston, 39, filmed herself in an intensive care unit (ICU) in Hillingdon Hospital, West London begging people not to “take any chances” with catching the killer bug.
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The mum-of-two was rushed to hospital last Friday after being diagnosed with Covid-19, which she says feels like “having glass in your lungs”.
In the horrifying video, which she sent as a warning to pals, gym-going Ms Langston is seen choking and struggling to breathe.
Speaking to the camera as she gasps for air, Ms Langston said: “If anyone is thinking of taking any chances, just take a look at me.
“I’m in the intensive care unit. I can’t breathe without this. They’ve had to sew that into my artery. I’ve got a cannula, another cannula and a catheter.
‘NONE OF YOU TAKE CHANCES’
“I’m actually ten times better right now than what I was before. I’ve lost count of the days.
“If anyone still smokes, put the cigarettes down, because I’m telling you now, you need your f***ing lungs.
“And please none of you take any chances. Because if it gets really bad then you are going to end up here.”
The shocking footage comes as the UK’s death toll soared to 144 on Thursday, a jump of 40 in just 24 hours.
Already, more than 3,200 people here have caught the disease which has stunned the world and left scientists locked in a desperate race to find a vaccine.
Ms Langston told MailOnline: “It’s like having glass in your lungs, it’s hard to explain, but every breath is a battle.
“It’s absolutely horrible and I wouldn’t want to go through anything like this ever again. I’d been ill for about five days before I was taken to hospital in an ambulance.
“I’d originally been diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics and advised to take ibuprofen and paracetamol.
“I was taking about eight ibuprofen a day and they now think that that exacerbated the problem.
“When I was taken into intensive care they originally planned to sedate me and keep me in intubation because my body had gone through it all for the best part of a week and I was shattered.
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“Fortunately I was kept awake but needed six litres of oxygen. Now that I’m improving I’m on one litre.”
The NHS has urged people with coronavirus to stop taking ibuprofen, and to use paracetamol instead.
It comes amid fears the drug might make the Covid-19 worse.
Chief scientific adviser to the Government, Sir Patrick Vallance said this week: “The ibuprofen example – it may or may not be right, I a don’t know, but the sensible thing to do would be to say don’t take it at the moment, take something else – paracetamol or something.”
NHS England’s advice then followed suit – removing the anti-inflammatory from it’s website as a potential treatment.
Their new guidance states: “There is currently no strong evidence that ibuprofen can make coronavirus worse.
“But until we have more information, take paracetamol to treat the symptoms of coronavirus, unless your doctor has told you paracetamol is not suitable for you.”
Ms Langston was diagnosed with the chest infection last week.
She was seen by doctors 11 days ago after going on holiday to Krakow in Poland with husband Richard and their two daughters.
At Hillingdon Hospital, she was diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics before going home in a cab.
But she was taken back to the hospital in an ambulance later in the week and diagnosed with pneumonia.
She was confirmed as having tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.
It’s absolutely horrible and I wouldn’t want to go through anything like this ever again
Tara Jane Langston
Ms Langston added: “There were two other patients with me in the ICU, both of who were being intubated.
“One was quite a large man who I’d say was about late 50s or early 60s and the other was a lady roughly the same age.
“So these were not elderly people.
“That was my reasoning behind doing that video was to warn that younger people are susceptible too.
“It’s quite surreal being in the ICU, the nurses are covered head to toe but they are literally working non-stop and have been brilliant.
“They are actually running out of face masks. One nurse came into my room the other day with a sort of plastic sheeting covering her face, it looked like the sort of clear plastic wrapper flowers come in.”
And she admitted she is worried if the virus starts getting worse the hospital will be “swamped” with coronavirus patients.
She begged people to self-isolate and insisted “it’s the only way”.
Ms Langston added: “I can understand their mind-set because I had that attitude before of “it’s a load of nonsense, it’s just being all hyped up” before I got this– I wasn’t one to buy into all the hysteria.
“But then I got the coronavirus and I never again want to experience anything like it because it was a deeply unpleasant experience.
“That’s why I filmed myself in the ICU and sent it to my work mates because they were supposed to be all meeting up for a training event and I wanted to tell them not to go as it wasn’t worth the risk.
“They’d be better off staying at home self-isolating.
“Whatever restrictions the government has now been put in place should have been done two weeks ago I believe.
“My story should be a warning to others – you need to take this seriously.”
Her husband Richard fears she could have caught the virus at the gym.
He said: “She’s out of intensive care now and is making good progress. We just want her back at home.”
