A pregnant mum who battled a severe case of coronavirus says she is at last beginning to feel her normal self again - but is fearful of catching the deadly disease for a second time.

Karen Mannering says doctors simply do not know if she or her unborn baby are now immune to Covid-19.

The 39-year-old, who is seven months pregnant with a boy, fought for every breath when she spent a week at the QEQM Hospital in Margate last month.

She was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs and had almost "given up" in believing she could pull through.

But four weeks down the line, the beauty therapist from Herne Bay is recovering well at her family home.

Speaking to KentOnline, she said: "I have actually started to feel like my usual self in the past four days - it's an amazing feeling.

"I don't feel poorly anymore, it just seems like a normal pregnancy again.

"I've had the lovely weather and have been watching my kids play in garden. That was a thought I couldn't dream of four weeks ago, so it's brilliant to be alive and kicking.

"Two weeks after being released I had a baby scan and that came back saying he was fine - albeit ever so slightly on the small side.

"But it isn't anything to worry about and I can feel him kicking away as he continues to grow."

Mrs Mannering, whose due date is in early July, first began to develop a fever and had "sore eyeballs" when the virus began to take hold.

Her coughs felt as though her "brain would pop" and she her breathing became very painful.

'Just because I've got through it, I don't feel safer than anybody else...'

Looking back on her three-week fight, Mrs Mannering is blown away by her unborn baby's good health.

"If I had the virus, then surely he's had it too," she said.

"I simply cannot believe that even my baby has fought coronavirus.

"It'll be intriguing to find out if he is immune to the virus but the doctors really don't know. I don't know if I'll be allowed to breast feed or not.

"I've been advised not to leave the house as I could be in danger of getting it again. So I'm back to square one on that front, and if I do get it for a second time then I'll be weaker.

"Just because I've got through it, I don't feel safer than anybody else.

"But I'm so thankful to be alive. I really didn't think I'd be seeing my kids playing happily ever again.

"Their lives could have been changed forever but we managed to pull through."

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