Sepsis is the number one cause of death in hospitals worldwide. It kills an estimated 11 million people a year, which is more than cancer or coronary disease. Sepsis is hard to identify, as early symptoms can be similar to other health conditions such as flu or a chest infection.
You can develop sepsis when an infection triggers a chain reaction throughout your body causing organ dysfunction. Without prompt treatment, it can lead to multiple organ failure and death.
Becky Serieys, who provides marketing support to Volition, developed sepsis in 2018. To coincide with Sepsis Awareness Month, she has shared her remarkable story with us…
Becky has Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. It’s an autoimmune disorder, meaning the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue. In March 2018, Becky had a significant flare-up of her symptoms which resulted in her consultant requesting blood tests and an MRI scan, as there were concerns that something was not right.
While Becky was waiting for the results, she became really quite poorly.
When Becky arrived at A&E, she was triaged straight through for treatment, as thankfully her consultant had rung ahead and alerted the hospital team that she might have sepsis.
“The team started pumping me full of antibiotics via IV and I can’t remember much more after that. I remember waking up in the middle of the night feeling panicked and so anxious as I didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t remember which hospital I was in. It was awful.”
Becky had initially been transferred to a general ward but then her heart rate started dropping and went down to 38bpm, which is dangerously low. Sepsis was affecting her heart. She was transferred to the hospital’s cardiac unit so she could be closely monitored.
Over the next few days, Becky’s medical team established she had an abscess in her bowel – a consequence of Crohn’s – that led to a serious infection and which triggered sepsis, as a result of her over-zealous immune system.
“Ideally, the medical team would have preferred to operate straight away, to remove or drain the abscess and combat the infection. However, I was just too poorly. They needed to stabilize me. The consultant told me I’d be in hospital for approximately 12 weeks, to which I was horrified. As a working mum that was not an option for me. In the end, I was discharged home after three weeks. I still felt absolutely dreadful but I was home.”
Like many sepsis patients, Becky’s discharge home marked the start of a long road to recovery.
“While I felt so lucky not to have lost limbs or function, like some sepsis patients, I still felt ill and fatigued. My sons’ school is at the end of the street, and walking to pick them up felt like I’d run a marathon. It was scary, as once you leave the hospital you are left on your own to recover. Sadly, the system isn’t great at following up or joining up the dots.
“It took about three months before I felt more like myself again and I didn’t feel fully better until after my abdominal surgery, which took place in October, some six months after I’d taken ill and when I was deemed well enough.”
Becky added:
How to spot sepsis:
(Source: World Sepsis Day)
The following symptoms might indicate sepsis:
- Slurred speech or confusion
- Extreme shivering or muscle pain, fever
- Passing no urine all day
- Severe breathlessness
- It feels like you’re going to die
- Skin mottled or discolored
Sepsis is always a medical emergency. If you have a confirmed or suspected infection and are experiencing any of these symptoms, contact your local hospital or physician immediately.
To find out more about sepsis go to:
www.worldsepsisday.org
www.sepsis.org
www.sepsistrust.org
