After 3 years in hospital, Patricia gets to go home

A 22-YEAR-old woman left severely disabled by a rare brain disease she contracted while working in a pet shop will go home tomorrow, having spent almost three years in hospital.

Limerick woman Patricia Ingle, who is a nightly patient at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, will have spent a total of 1,069 days in hospital when she finally leaves this weekend.

In June, she secured a multimillion-euro High Court settlement, which will help her receive rehabilitation care in Britain.

She claimed she suffered her injuries after contracting chlamydia psittacosis — an airborne infection which can be transferred from birds to humans — while working at Petmania stores, Ennis Road, Limerick, in 2008.

She alleged her condition was negligently mismanaged by the HSE.

Patricia, who is permanently on a ventilator and in a wheelchair, continues to defy medical odds and is determined to walk again.

She attributes her progress to the care of her parents, Pat and Annette, and her sisters, Kiera and Melissa.

Annette said: “I am delighted we are finally going to be able to bring her home for good. It was a killer bringing her back to hospital every night. We couldn’t be a complete family.”

Patricia, who was in a coma for five weeks after she became ill, said she will miss the staff at the high dependency and intensive care units, but is thrilled to be going home for good.

Her father Pat said: “The doctors and nurses treated her more like a daughter or a sister than a patient and I know she will miss them. She has also become so friendly with the security staff and the cleaning staff and will spend a long time saying goodbye to everyone.

“We are, of course, nervous but we have been getting ready for this for a long time and it’s great that it is finally going to happen.”