Relatives of a mum who died from Covid-19 all suffered different symptoms of coronavirus when they were struck down by the bug.
Carol-Ann Challoner spoke out after losing her mum, Carol, to the deadly bug, while other family members managed to recover from the virus.
The 46-year-old, her father Joey, an ambulance driver, and her brother Joseph, who works with children who have learning difficulties, all had symptoms but were able to beat the bug.
However, social worker mum Carol, 65, tragically died, reports The Liverpool Echo.
Teacher Carol-Ann, from Croxteth Park, told how her family had different symptoms ranging from a rash to cold shivers and flu-like symptoms.
She said she was first admitted to Aintree Hospital in March after struggling to breathe.
Carol-Ann's beloved mum, Carol, was also admitted but was unable to recover and lost her life.
The gofundmepage can be found here.
Now Carol-Ann has spoken about her experience in hospital and why she wants to give back to the doting staff who cared for her.
She said: "I developed a rash, and I just thought it was allergies. It seemed at the time when I was eating bread I was coming out in a rash, and I'd just changed washing powder, so I thought it was that.
"I didn't really take any notice of it. The day after my dad came home from work and I was having my tea that night with my mum and dad, I don't live with them but I cook for them and they cook for me.
"He came home and he said 'I really don't feel well, I can't get warm'. He didn't join us for tea, but then he developed all signs of Covid-19. The day after that I started developing symptoms as well.
"The morning after was the last day the Government were keeping schools open and I wanted to say goodbye to my Year 11s, and I was thinking of going in. Luckily I didn't go in because I felt too unwell.
"We all had different symptoms, I had the rash, my dad got cold shivers and flu-like symptoms.
"So I self-isolated for a week, my dad self-isolated for a week."
Since Carol-Ann was hospitalised more has been learned about the bug which has caused so much heartache and claimed so many victims.
Carol-Ann said: "There are 1,001 things going round in your head because you're hearing that people are dying.
"It was weird, it sounds really stupid but it's like you forget how to breathe. You're focusing on to how to actually breathe.
"I was taken up to the Amber ward, where anyone who hadn't tested positive or were awaiting results were sent there.
"It was all a bit of a blur, and I slept through most of it, but I was put on an IV drip, I was put on oxygen quite high. I just remember it blasting up my nose and I think I just slept."
While there, she also tragically heard nurses mention her mother's name and was told her mum would also need to come into hospital because of her coronavirus symptoms.
She said: "I heard them say her mum's on her way up and I panicked. I started crying, I just kept thinking 'my poor little mum'. I just kept thinking she shouldn't be here."
Initially, Carol-Ann said her mother did not experience breathing difficulties, but had flu-like symptoms. However, she started to hallucinate and that was when an ambulance was called.
She claimed she mother, who suffered from type-2 diabetes, was "quite fit".
As Carol-Ann's condition improved in hospital, she was told her mum would need to be taken to the intensive care unit.
Dressed in personal protective equipment, Carol-Ann was allowed to speak to her mum before she was taken to the unit.
She said: "They gowned me up, put gloves on me, attached me to an oxygen tank and put a visor on me before taking me into my mum's bay.
"There were patients around in the bay and about three nurses and I started to cry. When they took me to go and see my mum I think everybody was shocked because we were mother and daughter.
"We just cried uncontrollably, all the patients sat around were crying and even the nurses started crying. We were both just exhausted.
"With the masks and everything we couldn't really talk to each other."
Carol sadly died some time later, after spending a few weeks in hospital.
