Lesley Parry

Survivor

I am almost 7 months now since having sepsis.
One evening I volunteered to babysit the grandchildren with their other Nana. As the evening passed on I began to feel unwell. I thought maybe I was coming down with a cold, so returning home, I took my medication and got changed ready for bed. I went through into the living room and lay down on the sofa, falling asleep fairly quickly. I slept all that night, all the next day, and well into the evening. Around 11pm my husband tried waking me up, as I had been asleep for such a long time. He tried slapping my face, digging me in the ribs, to no avail.

He phoned for an ambulance that got to me very quickly. The paramedics tried sitting me up, but I immediately threw up. They did a few tests and rushed me to hospital, to ICU. I spent the next 12 days on a ventilator and being fed loads of different antibiotics. I eventually woke back up 11 days later, wondering why I was in hospital and why I felt so weak. The next day I was put on a normal ward, and the day after that I was sent home. I was still really poorly, but it was the right thing to do, as I could have picked up another infection so easily.

The day after I was sent home, I was back on IV antibiotics as the infection still hadn’t cleared up. All in all, I must have had 4 or 5 lots of antibiotics before there was any significant improvement. My cellulitis has flared up every 2 months since leaving hospital. (Sepsis and Cellulitis) My leg is a mess with all the discolouration and swelling. This is my life now. I was glad to have only had my leg like it is, and memory loss, than not woken up at all.

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