I was going to die Unvaccinated COVID-19 patient urges others to get jabbed after near-death experience

Mdm Lee remained on the ECMO machine for four days, as her heart started to recover. 

The hospital continued to treat her for COVID-19, and she eventually regained consciousness on Sep 18; she stayed in hospital for a total of 22 days. 

When she woke up, she coughed up a lot of blood in her phlegm. "Tissue after tissue, you see a lot of blood," she said. 

Staying in the ICU also took a toll on her motor skills and functions, and she was unable to move around and do things herself. 

"I can't really move and I had to relearn everything, even learning to swallow and eat," she said. 

"I remember I asked for water because my throat was very dry, and they tried to give me one small teaspoon, 5ml, and I couldn't even swallow." 

Mdm Lee, who is self-employed, also underwent speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy to relearn how to eat, shower, walk, and do things like folding clothes, she recalled.

No one mentioned her treatment with the ECMO machine until she was much better, and she was "quite shocked" to hear about what happened to her. 

"The nurses told me this is my second chance in life, especially those who witnessed how weak I was," said Mdm Lee. 

"It was quite scary to learn that I almost died. Because if I died, I will only have my husband to take care of my four kids, and they are still very young. 

"That was my immediate concern. If I had died, who would take care of my family? That was a very worrying and scary thought." 

When she regained consciousness, the nurses asked Mdm Lee if she wanted to do a video call with her family, but she rejected the idea because she was still surrounded by tubes. 

"I had phone calls with my husband before that, but I refused to do a video call with my children until I was left with maybe the feeding tube and the oxygen so it wouldn't scare them off," she added. 

While she was in the hospital, her husband took care of their children as all five of them served out their isolation orders at home, supported by their families and neighbours. 

They also did not tell their children about Mdm Lee's near-death experience in the hospital. 

"When I did the first video call with my husband, he was hiding it but I can tell he was so relieved - he was crying," she said. 

Mdm Lee will be going for her follow-up appointment with a cardiologist in November. 

Her heart will be scanned to see how it has recovered or whether the scarring is persisting, which will impact her long-term recovery, said Assistant Professor Lin Weiqin, a consultant with the cardiology department. 

"The heart can recover or it can remain weak. For Mdm Lee, she has recovered her heart function, that's very good," he added. 

"But let's say you have a scar in your heart that doesn't go away with time, there's always a chance in the future this scarring can give problems," said Asst Prof Lin, adding that this depends on the size of the scar. 

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