THE family of a mum who spent more than two weeks in intensive care battling coronavirus have paid tribute to her after she lost her fight with the disease.

Dean Murphy, son-in-law to Tracy Webster, says her loved ones have applauded the outstanding NHS teams who cared for her through her time at Southend Hospital.

The 58-year-old, from Canvey, who had no underlying health conditions, was first admitted to the hospital on New Years Eve after her oxygen levels dropped below normal.

But with her condition beginning to deteriorate, 24 hours later she was rushed into ICU where she spent around 17 days on a ventilator.

Tracy, mother to David and Chaz, passed away on Thursday.

Mr Murphy, who is married to David, said: “Her family were everything to her- she lived with us for 12 years, me and my husband have only been together 13.

“She first started becoming unwell a few days before Christmas and didn’t really even want to get out of bed on Christmas Day.

“And so someone I work with suggested we get an oximeter which monitors your oxygen levels.

"Anything less than 90 isn’t good, and she was 71, even though her breathing was fine. We took her to hospital and the next day her breathing was extremely impacted.”

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The 38 year-old continued: “We did a home Covid test the day before but the results didn’t come through in time, although we expected it to be positive anyway- she had symptoms like a cough and a temperature, and was just run down with no energy.

“Me, my husband and her actually all ended up getting it at the same time.

“We got a call on Monday and the consultant said her oxygen levels where half of what they should be.

“They were thinking about stopping life support, but they knew she was only young and wanted to give her time to prove them wrong. She managed to carry on until Thursday night.”

Dean, who is calling for NHS staff to have a wage that reflects their “true value”, says staff deserve more than a clap for their brave and selfless efforts.

He added: “In the first wave they dealt with a lot of elderly patients, but now they’ve also got younger people too. A lot are coming into ICU and not coming out.

“I have personally witnessed them struggling through the sheer volume of patients they are having to care for, the look of exhaustion on their faces, and the pain in their eyes as they tell you there is nothing more they can do for your loved one.

"It is time this country honoured its real heroes.”

To help Dean on his mission raising funds in aid of Southend Hospital, visit here.

All money raised will go towards the Mid & South Essex Hospitals Charity.