By Cara Sulieman
THE WORRIED sister of Ibiza swine flu victim Lindy Paterson has told how she texted home to say she wasn’t feeling well shortly before being rushed to hospital, joking: “I’ll get through it.”
Louise Paterson, 23, said Lindy was often prone to colds but always bounced back quickly, so thought nothing of it.
But now she is waiting at the family home in Keltybridge in Fife to hear news of her sister’s recovery from her parents – Celine and William – who are by Lindy’s bedside.
Lindy, 28, sent her a text the day before she was rushed to hospital telling her sibling: “I’m not feeling too good today but you know me, I’ll get through it.”
Suddenly worsened
Louise said: “They were playing cards on the balcony of their hotel room when I text her to see how the holiday was going. She said not to worry but the next day she was taken into hospital.
“She gets colds a lot, but always recovers from them quickly. She will just have to fight it.”
The law graduate was on holiday with Emma Ansell, 26, and two other friends on the Spanish isle when she started to feel ill.
But it was just a few days later that her condition suddenly worsened and her friends took her to a clinic where she was quickly admitted to hospital.
Doctors initially tried to treat her by pumping antibiotics directly into her body but last Tuesday they had to put her into a medically induced coma while her body tried to fight the infection.
Wait and hope
At first it was thought that she just had pneumonia, but three separate swab tests confirmed that she had the H1N1 virus.
It is the after-effects of the virus, including the severe pneumonia she has developed, that have left Lindy with a hole in her lung and kidney problems.
But doctors say there is a chance she will pull through, and the family can now only wait and hope she fights the disease.
Louise said: “They’ve found out what type of pneumonia she has and she’s on the right drugs for it now.
“The problem seems to be that she doesn’t seem to be fighting the infection and they can’t work out why.
“Don’t think I could stand it”
“She’s so fit and healthy, eats well and does lots of exercise with her friend Emma. It seems strange that it has hit her so hard.
“It’s been hard waiting here to find out what’s happening.
“But I don’t think I could face seeing her in the hospital with all the tubes and machines.
She added: “I’ve got a lot of good friends around me. I’m a strong person and I’m only thinking that she will get better.”
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