Cobram flu victim Sarah Hawthorn will reveal details of her terrifying fight for life on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes program this Sunday night.
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The first-time mum, who was in a three-month coma unaware she’d given birth to a baby boy, will be interviewed as part of a special report on Australia’s flu epidemic.
When The Border Mail broke the story in September 2017, her sister-in-law described the events that led to the bubbly 33-year-old ending up in critical condition in Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital.
Rachael Holt said the family was still coming to grips with how a healthy mother-to-be went from preparing for a baby shower to fighting for her life.
In a post on the initial gofundme page, she said Sarah was in a “critical condition” in the Alfred Hospital with confirmed Influenza A, pneumonia and other serious medical complications.
“At present she is fully machine supported,” she wrote.
“Her baby boy … has never had the chance to lay with his mum, snuggle into her chest or hear her infectious laugh.”
In a trailer released before the 60 Minutes program airs, Sarah and husband Rob speak of the ordeal that began with a simple sore throat during flu season in 2017.
At eight months pregnant and run down, Sarah experienced symptoms of a cold.
“… and then I couldn’t breathe,” she said.
The complications from contracting Influenza A became so severe doctors were forced to deliver Sarah’s baby five weeks early on August 28 and place her in an induced coma.
“I said goodbye,” Rob revealed to 60 Minutes.
“And on top of that you’ve got a newborn that’s going to grow up without a mum.”
“It nearly killed me and it has killed other people,” Sarah added.
Figures show 1127 Australians were killed by last year’s deadly flu, including 10 residents at a Wangaratta nursing home.
Now 60 Minutes warns Australia’s killer flu is coming back and is set to reveal details of a super vaccine that will prove a “game-changer” in saving lives.
A medical expert is expected to advise anyone over the age of six months to be vaccinated with this new 10-year saviour.
Sarah was discharged from hospital at the end of 2017 after waking from her coma.