Penn Wooding

My story begins in mid-October 2008 when I was 39 years old and living on my own in Brixham Devon. I have been disabled since the age of 16 since breaking my neck in a swimming pool accident. My health has always been reasonably good with the odd health issue, normally suffering from kidney stones.

It’s difficult to actually pinpoint exactly how long I had felt ill, or when the problem started. However, what I do know is everything came to a head on a Saturday. Because I spend the majority of the day on my own, my carers always leave plenty of water out for me. I first became aware that something wasn’t quite why when I developed an unquenchable thirst. Everybody has suffered from thirst before, but this was a completely different type of thirst. I could drink a pint of water and yet I would want more straightaway. As the day wore on I started to feel very lethargic, absolutely no energy whatsoever. I think I must have reclined my wheelchair for quite a while because I know I was hallucinating.

As it happens one of my carers came in at about 5 PM and we rang the doctor. It was then that I decided that the only sensible thing to do was to go to the hospital. So my carer took me over in her people carrier, there’s no way I could have driven myself. I went directly to accident and emergency where I was booked in. I remember there being quite a lot of people waiting to be seen. My thirst was still raging and I got through a couple of bottles of Coke and even had to ask for more water. At one stage I felt so incredibly ill, I went through and told one of the nurses that if I wasn’t seen soon, “I was going to die”. With the benefit of hindsight I don’t really think that they realise just how serious the situation was because I was told there are other people in front of me and I would just have to wait.

Eventually I was called by one of the doctors. I don’t remember much about what he did, although I do remember that my bowels emptied themselves whilst he was examining me. However, what came out was basically brown liquid. The last thing I remember was being put onto a bed.

I only have my parents, sister and friends accounts of what I went through for the next 2 1/2 weeks. I spent at least two weeks in a coma with just about every orifice having a pipe sticking out of it.

By all accounts, my body blew up like a balloon and my organs started to shut down. The doctors asked my parents what sort of quality of life I lead and mother it would be better to let me die. Obviously they fought for me and said that even though I was disabled, my life was very busy and I had a lot to live for. I have three cardiac arrests, one of which was in front of my mother.

The first thing I was aware of when I started to gain consciousness was looking at the ceiling and wondering what was going on. I was aware that my parents were there but really wasn’t entirely sure what was wrong. The doctors have had to insert a tracheostomy because I was not breathing properly. The problem with having a tracheostomy was that I was not able to talk. After a week the tracheostomy was removed and it was a relief to get my voice back.

I left hospital after about 2 1/2 weeks and it took me many lamps to really recover properly. Even now I’m not entirely sure what caused my sepsis, I believe it may have been a kidney complaint. In 2009, my right kidney was removed.

From my experience, I think it would be very difficult to diagnose yourself unless you are in the very early stages. Apparently my carer found a webpage open on my computer which was looking at diabetes. Not once did I consider my problem to be blood related. However, it will long before I would not be able to concentrate enough to diagnose myself.

I know that there are various symptoms that point to somebody suffering from sepsis. The only symptom that really stood out and that I can remember now was my raging thirst. And of course just before becoming completely incoherent I thought I was going to die.

That’s my story of somebody suffering with sepsis and making a full recovery. I hope that it helps other people.