Taryna Widdicombe

After having a colonoscopy I was bleeding from my back passage. I told the doctor and he said it was perfectly normal. When I got home I had a really bad stomach pain. It felt as though my stomach had exploded. I then started feeling very cold. My husband gave me a hot water bottle and I went to bed. It was the middle of summer.

I couldn’t settle and started feeling very sick, disorientated and I had no control of my functions. My husband called 999 an ambulance rushed me to hospital. I had a x-ray which showed I had a perforated bowel. (Sepsis and Perforated Bowel) I was rushed into resuscitation. At this point I had no idea what was happening. I was told I had a scan. Then I was taken straight into ICU. I only remember being told I might have to have all of my bowel removed.

I had wires and tubes coming out of everywhere. My poor husband could only sit and watch as the machines kept going dead. At this stage I think I knew I was being treated for sepsis. My life was in the hands of the doctors and nurses looking after me. I finally came out of ICU. Fortunately the doctors saved my bowel. My toes went black but I was so lucky not to lose any limbs. So then I developed blood clots. I am now on blood thinners for the rest of my life. I was so lucky to survive this ordeal.

When I finally came home I thought I would feel so much better. But I kept getting UTIs, sickness and lost my confidence. I now have fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis which can be caused by stress. I don’t drive very far as I still cannot concentrate very well. But thank my lucky stars it could have been so much worse.