39-year-old coronavirus patient posts stark video from ICU to warn people who think it won't happen to them

A 39-year-old woman being treated for coronavirus has recorded a video from her intensive care bed to show that the disease can gravely impact even younger people. 

Tara Jane Langston, who is currently being treated at Hillingdon Hospital in London, was briefly moved to intensive care after being diagnosed with coronavirus. She decided to record a video warning young and healthy people that they shouldn't be taking any chances with the virus. 

The video, posted to Facebook, shows Langston violently coughing with two tubes in her arms as well as a breathing tube. 

"Anyone who's thinking of taking any chances, just take a look at me. I'm in the ICU. I can't breath without this," Langston says pointing to her breathing tube. 

"They've had to sew that [an arm tube] into my artery. I've got a cannula, another cannula, and a catheter. I'm actually ten times better right now than I was before. I don't even know, I've lost count of the days."

"If anyone still smokes, put the cigarettes down," Langston warns. "I'm telling you now, you need your f**king lungs. And please, none of you, take any chances. I mean it, because if it gets really bad, then you're gonna end up here." 

After the video went viral, Langston told the Daily Mail that she first thought that coronavirus was overblown. After contracting the virus and becoming incredibly ill, she decided to post a warning to colleagues who were planning to meet up at an event they had planned.

"I had that attitude before of: 'It's a load of nonsense, it's just being all hyped up' before I got this — I wasn't one to buy into all the hysteria. But then I got the coronavirus and I never again want to experience anything like it because it was a deeply unpleasant experience." 

Langston, 39, says she is an active gym-goer and mother of two. After becoming unwell, she was originally diagnosed with a chest infection but was rushed to hospital after becoming unwell. At the hospital, she tested positive for coronavirus. 

"I’d originally been diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics and advised to take ibuprofen and paracetamol. I was taking about eight ibuprofen a day and they now think that that exacerbated the problem."

"When I was taken into intensive care they originally planned to sedate me and keep me in intubation because my body had gone through it all for the best part of a week and I was shattered." 

"Fortunately I was kept awake but needed six litres of oxygen," she added. "Now that I’m improving I’m on one litre."

She added that while most of people around her were older, she wanted to warn young people about the dangers of coronavirus.

"There were two other patients with me in the ICU, both of who were being intubated. One was quite a large man who I’d say was about late 50s or early 60s and the other was a lady roughly the same age," she added. "So these were not elderly people." 

"That was my reasoning behind doing that video was to warn that younger people are susceptible too. It’s quite surreal being in the ICU, the nurses are covered head to toe but they are literally working non-stop and have been brilliant."

According to The Guardian, some commenters online have accused Langston of faking the video. The publication was able to confirm Langston's diagnosis with her sister, Nicole Poppy Keatley, who said: “Everyone’s going to have an opinion or conspiracy theory.” 

While coronavirus results in higher hospitalization and death rates for the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci has warned young people that they are not "invincible." 

"You are not immune or safe from getting seriously ill,” Fauci said. “Even though when you look at the total numbers, it's overwhelmingly weighted toward the elderly and those with underlying conditions, the virus isn't a mathematical formula. There are going to be people who are young who are going to wind up getting seriously ill.” 

The United Kingdom has over 2,700 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 137 deaths.

The best way to prevent contracting or spreading coronavirus is with thorough hand washing and social distancing. If you feel you may be experiencing symptoms of coronavirus, which include persistent cough (usually dry), fever, shortness of breath, and fatigue, please call your doctor before going to get tested. For comprehensive resources and updates, visit the CDC website. If you are experiencing anxiety about the virus, seek out mental health support from your provider or visit NAMI.org.