Irene Bentley

Tribute

My Mother was 58 when she died. She died on the seventh day of being diagnosed with gout and then with septic shock.

The doctors said they had never seen anyone deteriorate do fast from being admitted to A and E (Accident and Emergency department) and then into I.T.U. (Intensive Therapy Unit).

My Mum was a healthy and active woman, who had done lots of travelling and had a successful business with her long-term partner. She had a grandson and was very close to me, as we would speak daily on the telephone. However on the 16th of August things started to go so terribly wrong. Here is a diary of events that took place leading up to the Saturday in which she was admitted to A and E.

Day 1- Called mum for our daily conversation. She tells me her foot is red and swollen, and really painful and she is going to the walk in centre, so we will have to cancel me doing her hair on Friday. I tell her to text me or call me when she gets out. Get a phone call that evening saying they have diagnosed her with gout. She describes the symptoms to me, which her partner has looked up on the Internet: fever and pain. I say I will call her in the morning – I am off all week and have the car if she needs anything or for me to take her to A and E.

Day 2 – Call Mum. She says she is not sleeping well and her partner is having to sleep on the couch as she is tossing and turning in pain all night and feeling feverish. I tell her again if she needs to go to A and E. I will take her. I say I will come down on Sunday with my son, as I have no one to have him as he is on half term from school.

Day 3 – Mum says it has spread to the other foot she is in a lot of pain and is basically in bed all the time. She says she has hardly eaten. I ask if she drinking plenty – she says “yes.” I ask if she passing water – she says “yes.” She says she has made an appointment with her doctor for tomorrow. I say if she is not happy with what the doctor has said for her to go to A and E, as I have not got a lot of faith in GPs. I tell her to let me know how she gets on.

Day 4- Call mum after she has seen GP (general practioner). The GP has said the gout has spread to the other foot. He has given her a different type of anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. He has said she will have to wait for six weeks for a blood test to confirm gout.

Day 5 – Call Mum. She sounds really confused and tired. I ask if she on strong pain killers. She says she is on co-codamol. She says she has sores on her arms and has asked me to bring some sudocrem for the sore skin. I say I will drop it off Saturday evening when her partner is in. She says she has fallen today getting out of bed. I tell her to stay in bed. I say I will help her shower when I visit Sunday. She said the boiler is broken at the moment but it is getting fixed.

Day 6 – Get a call at 8:50 pm from mum’s partner saying he has taken her to A and E as she has blue lips and a swollen tongue. Say I will be there as soon as I can. Arrive at 9:30 pm with my husband. Mum is in resuscitation – we’re not told anything initially. After an hour and a half of waiting, the doctor comes out and asks a few questions. She seems to be concerned with the bruising on my mum’s arms, no explanation of what is going on is given as they are not sure of what is wrong with her. After another hour of waiting Mum’s partner goes to find doctor to find out what is happening. We are allowed to go into see mum. She looks pale and is on oxygen but is talking coherently. She seems embarrassed that she has been catheterised I tell her not to worry about it she tells me to “get off home.” I say I want to stay until she is settled in a ward. The nurses tell me they are taking her up to HDU (high dependency unit) after she goes for her x-ray.

We go and wait upstairs in HDU, We are told there will be a long wait as they need to put in a central line and get her sorted in the HDU, then the orthopaedic surgeon will come up and see her. Three to four hours pass and a doctor comes out with a nurse. They say it is and infection, septicaemia, and that the next 48 hours are crucial. They say if she doesn’t improve in the next few hours, they will need to clean out her kidneys using a dialysis machine to remove the toxins in her blood. We are allowed to see her. We go in and she is covered in wires and machines. She has a mask on that helps force the air into her lungs. Her eyes are wide and she is scared; she doesn’t know what is happening to her body and she is struggling to breathe. She is now confused again. She says to me she wants us to take her to the toilet. I say we can’t as she has loads of wires attached to her and she has a catheter. She says she wants to use the bedpan, so the nurses get it for her.

I come back in and stroke her arm. I say it is important that she gets some rest and I will be back in a few hours to see her. That is the last ever conversation I have with my mother. The doctor comes in to us again and says if she becomes more exhausted they will have to ventilate her. I go home for a few hours to try to get some sleep (which doesn’t happen) and to call family and friends. Her partner stays in the relatives’ room. I get a call at 7 am saying they have ventilated her and have put her on the dialysis machine. I go back to the hospital. We are told that if she doesn’t react to the dialysis then it is unlikely that she will survive. I called all family and friends the previous night, but call main members of family to come down today. Family members visit throughout the day. Whilst my mum’s brother is there, the doctor asks to speak to me, mum’s partner, and her brother. He takes us to a back room and tells us that my mum’s organs are shutting down and there is nothing they can do. The dialysis isn’t working.

I pop home for an hour to get some tea and washed. Her partner still stays there. I get a call to go back as there isn’t much time left. I go back to hospital. They are changing mum’s sheets and making her comfortable. All the family members arrive and we all go in and sit with mum. She looks like she has aged years in hours; she reminds me of my Nan. We are all sat around her bed. At 8:30 her blood pressure starts to fall slowly. All of her other vitals start to go down slowly as well. At 8:40 pm, mum’s heart stops for the first time but she then gets a rhythm again. This happens several times. as though she is still trying to fight to stay alive. Finally at 8:50 pm on the 22nd of August, Mum’s heart stops completely – she dies. We all go back to the relatives’ room and start try to piece together the madness of the past seven days and why this happened. I feel this is going to be a long process. I feel numb and angry with myself that I could not do anything and also why this has happened.

Source: by Gail Broli (Irene's daughter)

Send us Your Story
Learn More about SepsisSupport Faces of Sepsis