A POPULAR baker who has battled coronavirus is back at home after spending a third spell in hospital since the start of the lockdown.
Helen Ducker, from Edgworth, first started feeling ill on March 23 and was taken to hospital by ambulance five days later.
She was there for a week but the mum-of-two was rushed back to hospital three weeks later on April 24 for four days, when she was not as ill but was left breathless.
And after a period at home for more than two months she was taken to hospital last week for a further five days when it was first thought she might need surgery to her spine.
Thankfully, she was able to go home on Sunday.
Helen, who turned 40 in June, tested positive for coronavirus during her first visit to hospital, and believes it has not left her system despite four other tests returning negative results.
Her experience is similar to many who have had the virus as medical experts study the long term consequences of coronavirus.
Helen on her 40th birthday
Helen, who runs the Mother Ducker cake shop at the Last Drop Village in Bolton, has medical conditions such as arthritis and Crohn's disease and degenerative disk disease, but the effect coronavirus has had on her breathing has left her worried.
She said: "I am used to going to hospital before but my health has always been fairly well controlled.
"Since I have been ill with COVID-19 I have been very inactive and fatigued. I think if you have any conditions coronavirus makes them a lot worse.
"I had light asthma and I didn't have to use my inhaler that much before I got ill but now I need take more often.
"I still feel breathless, my joints ache, I have constant pins and needles and I am on morphine."
Helen also may have damage to her lungs.
The lack of knowledge on coronavirus is a concern for Helen and she believes there should be more help for people who seem to have had more than one bout of the illness.
She also hopes residents will continue respecting social distancing rules to stem the spread of the virus.
Helen, who lives with her husband Nick and two children, aged five and seven, has praised her family for their support.
She vows to remain positive in her fight to get well again.
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