A mysterious bacterial strain, an induced coma... and an amazing recovery for a Cork mum

A fit and healthy mum of three was surprised when she started to feel unwell. She was diagnosed with aggressive pneumonia and placed in an induced coma. Her prospects looked bleak until infectious diseases specialist Dr Woo and his team at the Mater Hospital stepped in 

Celine O’Donovan with her family, husband Liam, and children Nicole, Seán, and Oran at Tragumna Beach, West Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

With three children, an active job and a love of outdoor swimming and horse riding, Celine O’Donovan seemed to be the picture of good health. So it came as a surprise when she began feeling tired and nauseous last year for no apparent reason.

Initially putting up with the symptoms, the Cork woman went to see her doctor after a couple of days, who referred her to her local hospital. But it wasn’t long before she was transferred to CUH and then on to a specialist unit in Dublin, as she soon became critically ill. 

“Before getting sick, I was working as a cleaner and loved swimming in the sea and riding my horse,” she says. “I started to feel unwell on May 6 and gradually got worse, so much so that by May 9, I could hardly walk or stay awake. My husband, Liam, took me to South Doc when he returned from work that evening, and the doctor quickly determined that I had double aggressive pneumonia and strep throat."

An ambulance was immediately called, and Celine was taken to the high-dependency unit at Bantry General Hospital, where she was put on humidified air as her oxygen levels were very low. "That continued for the next 24 hours, but by then, my oxygen levels were so bad I wasn’t able to breathe properly — so the doctors made the decision to put me in an induced coma, and I was put on a ventilator which would take over my breathing."

She was transferred to the intensive care unit in CUH. "My condition kept getting worse ... I had stopped breathing for myself, so the doctor decided to start a manoeuvre called proning, where I was turned on to my front for 16 hours, to take pressure off my lungs.” 

The 38-year-old, who lives in Skibbereen, County Cork, remained in CUH for several days, but as the situation became increasingly desperate, while still in a coma, she was taken to the Mater Hospital in Dublin, where thanks to an intense continuation of the treatment which began in Cork, she began showing signs of improvement.

“On Thursday, May 18, a doctor in CUH told Liam that there was nothing more they could do for me and my condition was continually getting worse,” she says. “They added that Dr Woo, an infectious diseases specialist at the Mater, had decided to take me into his care. However, he warned my husband that I was very unlikely to survive.

“The next day, everything was prepared, and after Liam was let in to say what he thought was his last goodbye, I was taken up to the Mater. But he followed up after me with his brother and upon arrival, he was allowed in to see me and he realised that my condition had already begun to improve. He could tell this as he had become used to reading all the statistics on the medical machines, and noticed that they were better than they had been in over a week — so it seemed like I had finally gotten a win.

Celine O’Donovan: "My condition kept getting worse... I had stopped breathing for myself." Picture: Dan Linehan

Dr Woo explained his care plan to Liam. "I was put on dialysis, and, as I was beginning to improve, all my meds were reduced, with some having been stopped completely — then everything started getting better. And after a couple of days, my oxygen levels kept rising, the infection in my chest started decreasing and I finally started breathing myself.” 

The mother of three — Nicole (21), Oran (11), and Sean (eight) — says her condition was almost "miraculously" getting better by the day, so doctors stopped the proning and decided it was time to take her out of the induced coma. 

Today, she is back home and her condition continues to improve.

“The wake up from the coma went great, and after some time of being confused and scared, I started to realise where I was and what was going on,” she recalls. “All the staff were absolutely fantastic — they were so patient with me and great for communicating with my husband. As I kept improving, they kept reducing the medication. My life was saved during the five days I spent under Dr Woo's care at the Mater Hospital."

Celine was transferred back to CUH where she stayed a week before being moved to Bantry Hospital for another week.  "I was finally allowed home on June 6. I burst into tears when I was

told I could go as I hadn’t seen my two little boys for almost four weeks."

She initially used walking sticks for support and underwent "a lot of physio" to regain her strength. "Although, at times, I still suffer from bouts of fatigue, things are getting easier each day," she says. 

“They never figured out what caused my illness — it was a strain [of bacteria] they had never come across before. 

"We can’t thank the staff at all three hospitals enough for everything they did for us. I am so glad to be here still.”