Linda Lusardi's children had to undergo therapy following her near-fatal Covid-19 battle
Linda Lusardi's children had to undergo therapy as a result of witnessing her near-fatal battle with Covid-19.
The former Emmerdale actress contracted coronavirus in March last year and thought she was at "death's door" in the hospital, with her being put on oxygen and facing the prospect of being intubated, while her husband Sam Kane was also hospitalised with Covid-19 and developed pneumonia.
They have recovered from their respective battles with the virus, but the terrifying ordeal had a lasting effect on their children Lucy, 25, and Jack, 22.
"It's been horrible for everybody," she told the Daily Mail while promoting her YouTube series, Beauty Angels. "My kids have had therapy (due to) the trauma of nearly losing both of us. Then we lost our dog. It's a year you want to zip up in a suitcase and throw over the hill."
The 62-year-old considered speaking to a therapist herself but ultimately decided against it, although she believes her husband would benefit from opening up about their traumatic experience.
"I did think about therapy but I didn't in the end. I got to talk about it a lot in interviews and I think it was actually worse for people around me because I didn't realise how bad I was," she continued. "I think my husband Sam should have some because he still gets flashbacks about me not coming home and the fear and trauma he went through thinking I wouldn't make it.
"Both Lucy and Jack had a short patch of therapy. They're absolutely brilliant now."
The former Page 3 model also opened about the long-term side effects from her health crisis, such as tiredness, hair loss, and being unable to drink alcohol anymore.
"Since Covid I can't drink. I can't drink alcohol so it makes me wonder if I have slight liver damage," she explained. "I just feel really ill about half an hour after I've drunk it....
"I had the occasional gin and tonic but it's not worth feeling rough. It's pretty instant. "I think, 'Oh, I've got a headache coming on'. It's like a hangover. It's lucky my party days are over. I would have been desperate in my 20s."
