THIS is the moment a retired nurse was applauded and cheered by medical teams after beating coronavirus.

Karen Rodely, aged 61, said without the "skill, dedication and compassion" of the medical teams at the Royal Bolton Hospital she would not be here now.

Speaking from her home in Breightmet, Karen said: "I am absolutely indebted to them, they saved my life.

"The staff are amazing, they are working tirelessly. The care I received was the best and I was in tears as I was moved out of ICU. They were all lined-up in the corridor clapping as I was moved to another ward.

"They were absolutely over the moon that I had survived this ­— I have underlying health conditions and was given a 50/50 chance of survival."

The Bolton News:

Karen, who has two children and three grandchildren, was taken into hospital on March 31 by ambulance ­— only being discharged on May 2.

She started suffering from breathlessness and thought it was her asthma. Her husband Paul contacted 111 and she was advised to self-isolate but her condition quickly deteriorated within days as she developed a temperature and an ambulance was called.

Paul said: "She became really poorly, she was finding it difficult to breathe.

"She was put on a ward with oxygen, but she wasn't getting better so the decision was taken to intubate her and put her on a ventilator.

"We were only able to speak on the phone, because you are not allowed to visit, she was breathless and we said goodbye.

"I did not think I would seen her again."

He added: "I would get two phone calls from the hospital, one in the morning one in the evening, telling me how she was, whether she was stable and comfortable. The communications team were amazing in letting me know how she was."

Paul would keep the rest of the family informed including daughter Jenny who lives just across the road. Daniel, their son, lives at home and Mark in Manchester.

Karen said: "The nurses would read out emails and messages my family had sent, until I was able to read them myself.

"They put up photos of my family. They do so much, I can't sing their praises enough."

Paul added: "They deserve a medal."

Slowly Karen was taken off the ventilator, until she was fit enough to be moved to another ward.

When she left, the hospital team clapped her out as she left to go home and continue her recovery.

"I am being visited by district nurses," said Karen, who has also received help from a physiotherapist and the speech and language team in her recovery from the virus, which caused one of her lungs to collapse.

"I just want to say thank you to all of the doctors and nurses at the hospital," said Karen.

Jenny said she was so proud of her "amazing mum" and grateful to the hospital.