'I had the jab - but super flu still left me in hospital'

A mother who spent five days in hospital after catching the new strain of super flu has said she was shocked at how ill she became.

Michaela Knapp, 52, was admitted to Sheffield's Northern General Hospital by ambulance after suffering breathing problems and excruciating back pain.

She is normally fit and healthy with well-controlled asthma and had had a flu jab, but said she was "shocked, scared and in agony" after catching the virus.

The number of flu patients in hospital in England has reached record levels for this time of year in what NHS England described as an "unprecedented situation". There is a new mutated version of the virus known as H3N2 and nicknamed "super flu".

Michaela and her 17-year-old son, who live in Hillsborough, both started feeling unwell and thought initially they might have Covid but over the course of a weekend, their conditions worsened.

She said: "On the Thursday I started with a sore throat but by the Sunday evening, I started getting really uncomfortable in my lower back.

"By Monday, I was in excruciating pain and my breathing was really bad.

"I never related the back pain to flu, it wasn't aches and pains like you normally get, it was really sharp like I was being stabbed along my lower back with ice picks. It was excruciatingly uncomfortable."

Michaela rang 111 who sent an ambulance for her, while advising her son to stay at home with fluids and painkillers.

"The ambulance arrived after about 30 minutes and the paramedics did lots of tests. I had a really high temperature of 39.6, my breathing was obviously really bad, they did heart traces, checked my chest and said I needed to go to A&E.

"The waiting room at hospital was full to capacity and the pain was so excruciating, I was crying out.

"Triage gave me liquid morphine for the pain then they transferred me into one of the side wards on a trolley and I stayed on the trolley for 12 hours before I got to an actual room."

After a five-day stay, Michaela has returned home "exhausted" and her son has made a full recovery.

"I've had a flu jab but from what I understand, there is a new strain. The virus caused a massive asthma attack which is why I couldn't breathe and that's what all my pain was in respect to.

"I was diagnosed with asthma about 35 years ago but I've never had an asthma attack, it's always been really controlled so it was quite scary.

"I'm not elderly, I'm generally fit and well so it was quite a shock at how ill it made me."

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said like most other hospitals, it was experiencing high levels of emergency care demand, further exacerbated by a "higher than normal number of flu cases this year".

As of Wednesday, the hospital had 89 patients admitted with confirmed flu and "many more" with other respiratory illnesses.

Chief operating officer Michael Harper said: "We have plans in place to manage increases in demand including increasing the number of beds where possible.

"Teams are working exceptionally hard across our hospitals and community services, and people can help us by collecting patients in a timely manner when ready for discharge and only using A&E in genuine emergencies.

"We would ask people not to visit our hospitals if you are unwell to limit the spread of flu and other seasonal illnesses.

"We would also urge everyone who is eligible to ensure they get their flu vaccination to give themselves the best possible protection."

The hospital has published alternatives for non-emergency care.

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