Despite this, awareness of sepsis among
the public and healthcare professionals is
worryingly low. I’m sharing my story in the
hope people will notice the signs.
Our baby is due in October and Rowan starts
school this year. I’m looking to the future and I
don’t want to miss a moment with my beautiful
children. I’m so grateful to be a survivor.
HADLEY MIDDLETONVisit sepsistrust.org for more informationwas suffering. I struggled with muscle
weakness and fatigue and had to
take time off from my job as an NHS
support worker. My life had been
turned upside down and
I was fearful of getting ill again.
Luckily, a nurse from The UK
Sepsis Trust helped me to process
my fears and feel less alone. “It’s
normal to feel sad. Please don’t suffer in
silence,” she said.
Gradually, I built up my strength and
recovered emotionally and physically. In June
2017, Aaron and I completed our 25km trek for
The UK Sepsis Trust, raising more than £700. It
was amazing to educate others about sepsis
and the number of people it affects.
I was ready to take on the world again, but
sadly in April this year I was struck down by
sepsis for a third time. I told Rowan that
Mummy had a bug and needed help from
the hospital to remove it from her body.
I was 14 weeks’ pregnant with my second
baby and because I had influenza, I was
quarantined for six days.
I came out the other side again but I hope
this is the last time I have to face this battle.
I’m still recovering and I’ve experienced some
hair loss, which is another effect of PSS.
There is help out there and, since
November 2017, I’ve been working for the NHS
111 Service. Sepsis is a hidden killer and can
be triggered by any infection in the body. Many
people still don’t understand what it is, but at
least 250,000 people in the UK contract it each
year and it kills more people than bowel,
breast and prostate cancer combined.Then, I lost consciousness. When I came
around, I was hooked up to IV antibiotics
again. “Please don’t let me die,” I cried,
begging the nurses to call Aaron.
All I could think about was Rowan. I had to
keep fighting for my little boy. I still had a very
high temperature and my doctors said I might
need to be placed in an induced coma while
they tried to stabilise me. Fortunately, they
regulated my temperature by wrapping me in
ice, then putting a heat blanket over the top.
I couldn’t believe this was happening to
me again. I was confined to my bed, receiving
the same treatment as the first time. Aaron
brought Rowan, then 18 months, to visit, but
he was too scared to come near me.
FIGHTING BACK
After four days of treatment, my doctors
managed to control the sepsis and I cried
tears of relief. I thought about all the people
who hadn’t been as lucky – either they’d lost
limbs to sepsis or gone into septic shock.
It turned out the reason I’d developed sepsis
was due to tonsilitis, and my body being unable
to fight it. Outwardly I looked OK, but inside I
REAL LIFE
‘I knew my
life was at
risk – I was
terrified’
The couple
completed a
sponsored hikeRachael struggled with how close
she came to being taken from son
Rowan and husband AaronWHAT IS SEPSIS?
Sepsis is often referred to as septicaemia
or blood poisoning. It’s the overreaction to
an infection in which the body attacks its
own tissue and organs. Every year in the
UK, 52,000 people die from sepsis. To raise
awareness, The UK Sepsis Trust is urging
people to just ask, “Could it be sepsis?”
Seek medical help urgently if you develop
any of the following symptoms – slurred
speech or confusion, extreme shivering
or muscle pain, don’t pass urine in a day,
severe breathlessness, mottled or
discoloured skin.