Grace Victory reunites with doctor after Covid coma cardiac arrest
A YouTuber who went into cardiac arrest while in a coma with Covid has reunited with the doctor who saved her life.
Grace Victory, 31, from High Wycombe, was put in a coma on Boxing Day 2020, just after giving birth to her son.
Dr Viv Sathianathan was the lead consultant on shift when she went into cardiac arrest three weeks later.
Ms Victory, who is also an author, said she felt privileged returning to Northwick Park Hospital in London to give a talk with him for trainee staff.
"It was an honour to talk with Dr Viv about the good and the bad from my 98-day stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and to give advice on things that could be improved upon from a patient perspective," she said.
"Dr Viv said my heart stopped beating whilst I was laying on my front, which is literally a worst-case scenario, but he and a team of 10 nurses and doctors brought me back to life. And because of them I am here. Alive, breathing, living, thriving."
Dr Sathianathan, clinical lead for intensive care medicine, said: "We are all extremely pleased that Grace has made such an impressive recovery.
"We always strive to learn and improve and it was really informative to hear Grace talk to the team about the good and the bad during her time with us."
Ms Victory, who was in a coma for three months, said the pair also spoke about the need for better psychological support for ICU patients and staff traumatised by the pandemic. She hopes to work on this idea with the charity Mind, for which she is an ambassador.
When the vlogger woke up in March 2021, she was finally able to meet her 10-week-old son Cyprus Sevyn for the first time.
He was born by emergency C-section on Christmas Eve 2020, when Ms Victory was seven months pregnant, because she was so sick with coronavirus.
Doctors have been amazed by her recovery, she said, after they initially only gave her a 5% chance of survival.
Ms Victory is now pregnant with her second child, a little girl, and is due to give birth next month.
"I'm now focusing on birth prep, relaxation and spending time with my bestie Cyprus Sevyn. I feel as if a chapter is closing and a new one is beginning and I could not be more excited," she added.
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