Becky’s sepsis story

Sepsis is the number one cause of death in hospitals worldwide. It kills an estimated 11 million people a year, which is more than cancer or coronary disease. Sepsis is hard to identify, as early symptoms can be similar to other health conditions such as flu or a chest infection.

You can develop sepsis when an infection triggers a chain reaction throughout your body causing organ dysfunction. Without prompt treatment, it can lead to multiple organ failure and death.

Becky Serieys, who provides marketing support to Volition, developed sepsis in 2018. To coincide with Sepsis Awareness Month, she has shared her remarkable story with us…

Becky has Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. It’s an autoimmune disorder, meaning the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue. In March 2018, Becky had a significant flare-up of her symptoms which resulted in her consultant requesting blood tests and an MRI scan, as there were concerns that something was not right.

While Becky was waiting for the results, she became really quite poorly.

“I felt dreadful. Like I was walking through treacle. I was in pain with my tummy. I was so fatigued. I was a funny colour and felt clammy.? It sounds dramatic but I’d never felt like that before, like I was at death’s door. My GP referred me back to my consultant. By that point, my heart rate was high and my blood pressure was low. The consultant took one look at me and sent me straight to A&E.”

When Becky arrived at A&E, she was triaged straight through for treatment, as thankfully her consultant had rung ahead and alerted the hospital team that she might have sepsis.

“The team started pumping me full of antibiotics via IV and I can’t remember much more after that. I remember waking up in the middle of the night feeling panicked and so anxious as I didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t remember which hospital I was in. It was awful.”

Keep reading Becky's story on our website: tinyurl.com/4fkrutxz