A MOTHER-TO-BE who “came back from the dead” after being struck down by swine flu is preparing to celebrate Mother’s Day with the baby son she feared she would never see.

Joanne Walters, 30, from Acklam, Middlesbrough, said she cannot believe she will be celebrating Mother’s Day with her partner, Kevin Coaker, her baby son, Thomas and his two-year-old brother, Joshua, tomorrow.

The doctor’s receptionist spent nearly a month on a ventilator in intensive care fighting against double pneumonia and kidney failure before giving birth to a healthy boy.

Last night, she thanked doctors and nurses at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for being “absolutely brilliant”.

And after an horrific experience which has left her suffering flashbacks about being in intensive care she urged other pregnant women to follow the Government advice and get themselves immunised against swine flu.

“At the time I didn’t want the jab because of the baby, but after what I went through, I would definitely have it now,” she said.

Ms Walters became so ill after developing swine flu last November that her family were told to prepare for the worst as doctors and nurses fought to keep her alive.

She was so poorly that word was sent to her elder brother, Mark, in the Czech Republic, that he should return to the UK immediately.

“They didn’t think I was going to make it and they didn’t think the baby was going to make it either,”

said Ms Walters, who remembers very little of her ordeal because of being heavily sedated for up to 15 days.

Janet Pugh, who was manager of the ward where Ms Walters was treated, said: “We were amazed with her, she was so resilient. We used to say she was our heroine She had been through so much and she was so brave the way she coped with everything.”

Mrs Pugh said Ms Walters “did really well” to recover so quickly and give birth to her second son on January 28.

Mr Coaker said: “It was an awful time, but the staff did an amazing job. We had a charity night for them and raised £600 which will pay for a TV on the ward.”

Hospital officials have told Ms Walters it could take a year for her to fully recover from her ordeal.

Last night, Kath Mannion, midwifery officer for NHS North-East, said: “There is absolutely no doubt that pregnant women are at a much increased risk of severe complications from swine flu as their bodies and immune systems adapt to accommodate their growing baby. In the most severe cases, these complications can put the lives of pregnant women, and their unborn babies, in unnecessary danger.

“People should be reassured of the safety of the swine flu vaccine which has been licensed for use on pregnant women. I would urge women across the North-East, at whatever stages of their pregnancy, to get the swine flu jab as soon as possible.”

Martin Wilson, director of NHS flu resilience in the North-East, said: “We would urge those at risk, including pregnant women, not to become complacent and to contact their GP to arrange a vaccination appointment as soon as possible.”