5th June 2016, a day that will stay with me always, a day that changed our lives forever.
It was the day my gran passed away.
She had been admitted to hospital the day before showing signs of an infection and they were carrying out tests to see if they could find out where and what it was. The next day during one of the blood tests they found she had sepsis, IV antibiotics and fluids were given straight away but sadly she lost her fight just hours later. I remember going to see her that day, we were taken into the private waiting room and the doctor told us the news, it was then time for us to say goodbye. It broke my heart and later while I was at home, I received the call to say she was gone.
It was a horrendous day and I thought to myself, wow more needs to be done to raise awareness of this evil infection but being honest it has taken me until today to feel ready to share the story with you properly.
Sepsis has been in the news a lot recently and TV programmes like This Morning have shared the stories of those who have lost loved ones, including children to sepsis.
So what is sepsis? Sepsis is, a rare, complication from a bacterial infection. It can follow from a chest or urine infection, cuts and bits or burst ulcers. It can affect multiple organs and can lead to loss of life if treatment is not started within a certain time frame and this time frame is small.
From the moment sepsis is diagnosed, doctors have an hour in which to administer antibiotics and other medications to flood the body and fight sepsis. One tiny little hour.
Early signs of sepsis can mimic other infections such as a heavy cold or the flu. They are:
- a high temperature (fever) or low body temperature
- chills and shivering
- a fast heartbeat
- fast breathing
For more information on Sepsis head over to The UK Sepsis Trust website where you can find posters, leaflets and loads of great information.
This post first appeared on Angela - Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Anxiety S, please read the originial post: here
