Editorial: Winter bugs have bite that can kill you

Swine Flue survivor Karen Cherrie has memory of the week she was ill at home before going into coma. Photo / Paul Taylor

At this time of the year, it can be taken for granted most people will come down with some sort of ailment during winter.

For many, it will be the common cold or flu but for some like Hawke's Bay woman Karen Cherrie, it can turn into something life threatening.

The 56-year-old lost one month of her life after contracting swine flu (H1N1).

Like the majority of us at some time or another, Karen, an accounts clerk, had an awful cough and wasn't feeling well at work and was taken home by a workmate.

What makes Karen's story so different to the majority is that's pretty much all she remembers until she woke up one month later with her twin sister hugging her.

It's an incredible story, at first Karen was diagnosed with pneumonia and put on antibiotics. Her condition worsened and if it wasn't for her caring sister, Nikki, keeping a constant check on her she may not have survived.

Her sister found her unconscious after not being able to contact her on the phone. Ambulance staff told Nikki another two hours and Karen would have been dead.

Karen ended up in ICU on life support and was in a coma for the majority of that time.

Doctors said Karen's high fitness level was a factor in her survival. She walks for one hour every day and does a lot of gardening.

What is interesting about the incident is how Karen wasn't aware just how sick she was.

It's something to always be aware of. I've just recovered from a bout of pneumonia myself. It started off as a sore throat and a hacking cough and ended with me struggling to breath and my doctor saying I should be in hospital.

I have a huge phobia with hospitals, ironic when you consider I spent five years as a paramedic for St John Ambulance.

I didn't go to hospital but knew I needed rest, antibiotics and breathing exercises. Now I'm not advocating this for anyone and, especially after hearing Karen's story, I think it was foolhardy of me and, in future, will heed my doctor's advice and follow the appropriate treatment.

I just want to acknowledge Karen's bravery in telling her story and I hope she serves as an inspiration to others. I'd also like to acknowledge another brave Hawke's Bay woman, Kirsty Porcer. The Hastings mum is battling terminal cancer. Her positive attitude is fantastic. The 42-year-old is about to head off to Germany for another round of an experimental treatment for her breast cancer, which has metastasised to her bones. In a post on Hawke's Bay Today's Facebook page she is feeling positive about her future. That is great to hear, all the best to both Karen and Kirsty.