A MUM-of-two has been reunited with her sons after spending more than six months in hospital and surviving multiple near death experiences.

Nicola Sharpe, 48, a secondary school teacher from Southend, was admitted to Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge in August 2021 for treatment for heart failure and has remained as an inpatient since.

Now, 190 days later, she has been discharged following a lifesaving heart transplant.

The mum spent her birthday, Christmas and New Year in hospital but is over the moon to be reunited with her sons, aged nine and 12.

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Nicola said: “There have been many moments when I thought this day would never come.”

Her husband, Peter, died from a sudden and unexplained heart condition seven years ago.

Nicola says that her determination to recover has been fuelled by her desire to get back home to her sons because she “didn’t want them to lose both parents”.

 

Success - Nicola leaves critical care after 190 days.

Success - Nicola leaves critical care after 190 days.

 

Nicola first developed symptoms in July 2020 when she was out for a run and became breathless.

Then, in September, she became breathless again when climbing a hill in Jersey. When she was home and speaking to her brother, a doctor, he recommended she go to A&E immediately.

The team at Southend Hospital diagnosed Nicola with dilated cardiomyopathy and referred her to the Royal Papworth Hospital.

Nicola’s condition deteriorated quickly and by New Year’s Day 2021 she was back in Cambridge being fitted with a pacemaker.

However, a few months later, her condition worsened yet again.

In August 2021, Nicola was initially admitted to hospital but suffered a cardiac arrest not long after arriving.

At another point, she lost 80 per cent of her blood during an operation and was told she had survived against all the odds, thanks to the lifesaving transplant.

 

Survival - Nicola with ward staff before leaving hospital.

Survival - Nicola with ward staff before leaving hospital.

 

Nicola said: “Please talk to your loved ones about organ donation and let them know if you would like to be a donor if you die.

“I’ve always been really honest with the kids about what happened to Peter and what I’m now going through. They have asked me some pretty tough questions, like ‘are you going to die like dad’ and ‘how will we live without you’. That first hug with my boys is one of the most special moments in my life. It’s the moment that has been keeping me going.”