“I truly believe everyone should know the signs of sepsis. In particular new mums like me who have had planned/emergency sections and are at higher risk. Don’t waste time waiting, just get to hospital right away.”

I’m Amy Fyffe, a primary school teacher from Dundee, who has recently recovered from having sepsis, a week after giving birth by emergency c-section to my baby, Millie. I’ve been asked by Sepsis Research FEAT to share my experience, which may help someone else in the future spot the signs of sepsis, which can be life-threatening if you don’t get the help you need quickly.

I was recovering well from a traumatic birth, where I had lost over two litres of blood, due to the placenta coming away. I was finally at home and safe, so we decided to go out for lunch, but after returning home I suddenly collapsed on the floor vomiting, shivering and talking utter nonsense to my husband, Jack. He was extremely concerned and rang for an ambulance but was told the wait would be around 4 hours so he drove me back to Ninewells Hospital, where I’d had Millie the week before and I was still under their care.

During the journey from our house to the hospital I became even more confused and it was very scary. I thought I was having my baby again and kept saying to Jack, “I think I’m in labour”, which was obviously impossible. I was struggling to breathe and very delirious. I didn’t recognise where I was, couldn’t tell people my own name, didn’t recognise my husband or baby. I was the most terrified I’d ever been as I knew I was acting crazy but couldn’t do anything about it.

Jack was frightened, but staff at the hospital were incredible. They diagnosed me within 30 minutes as having sepsis. They put drips into my arms to get my temperature down and lots of antibiotics. A few hours later when I wasn’t ‘crazy’, they told me what had happened. They were so kind. Even though I kept repeating the same question, they always answered in a welcoming and positive way.

I stayed in the hospital for three days being constantly monitored. I was able to have Jack and Millie with me as I felt very scared and vulnerable, and didn’t want to leave my baby.

Once I became fully conscious, I was really scared also about what could have happened and that I wouldn’t have recovered. A family member had died of sepsis two years earlier after being put in a medical coma. If I’d been seen later, perhaps I wouldn’t be here to tell the story. I am so very thankful for the staff’s knowledge and actions. They genuinely saved my life and I’ll forever be grateful to them. Jack was right to bring me in, as they told me it could have been much worse if he had not acted so quickly. It could have been life-threatening. 

Medical staff could not find the source of the infection I had, but it has been assumed to be internal and linked to the emergency section. It’s so important that everyone knows how to spot the signs of sepsis, particularly if you’re a new mum like me. That’s why I’ve shared my story on Instagram, and now with Sepsis Research, who have announced they are running a sepsis awareness campaign with the Scottish Government and have helped me to understand a lot of my experience, and why I felt the way I did.

Now I’m looking forward to spending time with Jack and Millie, going to gigs, gardening and running along the beach again. I just want everyone to know my story so others know the signs. Don’t wait, just go straight to the hospital.

You can click here to listen to Amy speaking about her experience in her Words of Sepsis podcast