A family has urged people to be on the lookout for signs of sepsis after a young woman died of the condition weeks after she developed flu-like symptoms. Bethannie Booth, 24, from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, called NHS 111 after noticing red bumps on her face and was told it was likely to be acne.
However, after she started to develop a sore throat and other symptoms associated with flu she visited the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf on 5 March, where she was told she had strep A and a collapsed lung, before developing sepsis.
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Posted by Bethannie Booth on Sunday, January 29, 2023
Shortly after, she developed sepsis, which occurs when the body responds poorly to a bacterial infection and attacks its own tissue and organs.
Symptoms include a high or abnormally low temperature, fast heart rate and rapid breathing. Patients can deteriorate rapidly if the infection is not detected rapidly and can lead to multi-organ system failure and death.
Within days of discovering she had sepsis, Booth was put into an induced coma and transferred to Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, where she received specialist care.
She had showed good progress in battling the infection and was transferred back to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital but she re-developed sepsis and died on 31 March surrounded by her family.
Ian Booth, who has set up a fundraiser on behalf of the family to help pay for funeral costs, said her final days were a battle. He said: "This loss is unfathomable and something no parent should have to experience. The family is at a loss for words and does not even know where to begin at this moment.
"Bethannie was put on an ECMO [extra corporeal membrane oxygenation] machine where she fought and fought. After a few days, Bethannie showed promising development and things were looking up. Guy's Hospital said she was a miracle and she was on the right track to getting better.
"Unfortunately, sepsis had returned and her fight was over after six days of being back in Wales. The hospitals and staff done everything they could."
Booth’s devastated family are now warning others to be aware of the symptoms of the infection. Her dad, Wayne Booth, told the BBC: "If we can save one poor family going through what we've gone through, we've accomplished something.
"A sore throat is not always a sore throat."
Her sister, Nia-Ffion Davies, added: “If you feel like things are wrong, if you suspect that anything's wrong, don't let anyone tell you that there's nothing wrong.
Around 52,000 people die every year in the UK from sepsis, according to figures from the Sepsis Trust.
