Kayleigh W.

On August the 18th 2017, I survived the most painful thing I’ve ever felt. A hot water bottle filled with boiling water burst on my lower back and left burn. I had never felt so much pain in my life! My doctors later told me I must of gone into shock because I can’t remember getting from my bedroom on the second floor to my mum in the living room, screaming with just my red housecoat on. I remember pulling off the wet clothes and burning my left hand before everything went blank.

I remember being rushed to hospital by my mum and dad in the car, going straight through to the back of the A&E department were I was given morphine and checked over by 3 doctors, 2 surgeons and 3 nurses. I was given the all clear that Friday afternoon, thinking thank God I’m okay. I was bandaged up after getting the 2 blisters removed from my back and sent home with no antibiotics. I was told to take paracetamol if I felt some pain but apart from that I was ok. Me and my parents seemed happy, nothing had to get done to me apart from the blisters getting removed, and I was told to only come back to get my bandages changed on the Sunday morning.

Friday night I was fine, the bandages seemed to be holding fine. There was no strong pains or discomforts. I was still in shock a little but everything was ok. Saturday night rolled around and everything changed. The bandages started to irritate me to the extent that I never slept that whole night. My mum rushed me back to the hospital on the Sunday morning at 5:20am. I was feeling very sick at this point, I even vomited 3/4x before seeing a doctor. When I finally did, I was sent up to the burns unit were one of the nurses told me I had to get the skin removed from the wound on my back and bum before getting the right burn bandages put on me. So I was in a room with my mum and a the nurse for 40mins getting skin removed (I wish they gave me stronger pain relief for that). I told the nurse I was still feeling sick, but she told me I was feeling that way due to what I had just gone through and the lack of sleep.

I was sent home, still without any antibiotics. I was given strong painkillers because my back was very sore after the skin removal. When I got home I took 2 of the painkillers to help ease my back, but 15mins later I was being sick again and again I felt horrible, my head was banging and I just felt weak. My mum was worried I told her it must be down to the painkillers and not having slept the whole night before.

Sunday night I was a nightmare. I was feeling worse by the hour but I told myself it was probably nothing or something to do with the painkillers and I didn’t want to wake my mum up for nothing, so I held off. It was only when I couldn’t hold back anymore around 5 in the morning I called for my mum! She phoned for a ambulance straight away when she saw me and saw that I couldn’t hold even water down. I was rushed into St. John’s hospital. I had toxic shock and sepsis! (Sepsis and Toxic Shock Syndrome)

They were struggling to get IVs into me because all my veins had collapsed, but they finally managed. I was given 8litres of water in the space of 15 mins. My mum was brought round beside me and the doctors tried to explain to me that I needed surgery straight away and that my burn had become infected. No-one knew how bad it was until I was rushed into the theatre room. My mum held my hand until I drifted off to sleep. I just remember panicking thinking this must be bad if I’ve only been in the hospital for more than 20minutes. My mum was later informed when I was late 2hrs coming out of surgery, that my whole back was badly infected and that it was green/yellow colour!

The surgeon was concerned but they felt like they had cleaned my wound well but I had to be taken straight to the ICU to keep an eye over me for the first 24hrs. I was moved up to the burns unit on the Wednesday. I can’t remember much of the first week, only bits and pieces of me being badly sick and IVs getting put into me. I was given some type of very strong antibiotics through the IVs. I didn’t know how bad I was until 4 days before I left, 2 doctors and 1 surgeon came in and told me the swabs I had got done that day still showed I had strep A & B in my system. (Sepsis and Group A Streptococccus, Sepsis and Group B Streptococcus) They were concerned so I was put on 2 types of very strong antibiotics to kill the infection. They then finally sat me down and explained to me in front of my mum for the first time how bad I really was when I first came into the hospital. I was at death’s door that Monday morning. My mum and dad were told that Monday that I was in a very dangerous way and that if my mum hadn’t rushed me in when she did I wouldn’t have had this chance to make it through to the next day. I couldn’t believe it, and still to this day I can’t. It’s scary to hear that, the feeling I felt that night/morning was my body trying to fight to stay alive.

It’s been 6/7 weeks now and I’m dealing with the scars and PTSD. (Sepsis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) I have a persistent tachycardia because of the toxic shock but it’s not severe enough to be a great concern. My back/lower bum and hand are healing very well. The colour is still deep red/purple but it’s healing. I’ve been told I will be left with a burn scars but I’m okay with that.  I’m handling hot water again and even got to the point were I can cook again. My only extreme fear is getting a infection again because it scares me that the signs of toxic shock and sepsis aren’t well known and can get placed as other symptoms like the flu. Not for one minute did me or my family think it was that causing me to feel the what I did. I’m just thankful for my mum who phoned that ambulance that morning, even though I didn’t want one and I’m thankful every day since that I’m alive and I’ve survived this ordeal and I’m happy with my scars, there my battle wounds.