January 3, 2023 5.50 pm This story is over 29 months old

Scunthorpe nurse ready for work return after long covid battle

She continues on the road to recovery

A Scunthorpe nurse recovering from long covid is looking forward to going back to work as she continues on the road to recovery.

Sue Snelson is a Critical Care Outreach Nurse Specialist at Scunthorpe General Hospital. For a long time she was a manager of the Intensive Care Unit, where she spent around 10 days as a patient in 2020.

The North Lincolnshire And Goole NHS Foundation Trust posted an emotional video in May 2020, where Sue was given a guard of honour by her colleagues and friends, who clapped as she left the hospital.

Scunthorpe nurse Sue in hospital (left) continues her road to recovery and is now feeling more optimistic (right) ahead of her return to work. | Screenshot: BBC East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire

She told BBC East Yorkshire & Lincolnshire: “At one point they said that my oxygen levels were incompatible with life. I was totally unaware that I was in intensive care and on the morning that I did wake up and I looked around and saw familiar faces in uniform I just thought ‘what on earth am I doing here?’. I actually said that to one of the nurses and they said, don’t you realise how ill you’ve been.”

Sue Snelson was given a guard of honour by colleagues and friends. Photo: The North Lincolnshire And Goole NHS Foundation Trust

Sue has gone into the new year feeling optimistic about her road to recovery, adding: “I decided to take some time off, which I have done, but I have just agreed to go back and I’m going to be working one day a week in pre-assessment, which I’m really looking forward to. I just don’t like not being at work.

“I feel like I’m getting back to normal, as much as normal can be for me from now on.”

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