Judith Searles from Hampshire faced sepsis during Christmas 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A mother of two grown-up children with a thriving floristry business, it was a Christmas that Judith and her family will never forget.
Judith explains, ‘I’d recently had surgery in Southampton General to remove a kidney stone and stent, but I went back to hospital in Eastbourne, where my partner lived, as I had a high temperature but was shivering uncontrollably.
It was on the 21st December 2020 that I was diagnosed with sepsis – I ended up staying in hospital all over Christmas. COVID cases were rising rapidly and the UK went back into lockdown as a result.
Within 15 minutes of being in the A & E department the doctor came and told me I had sepsis – it was fast! Even though I had walked in, I realised that I was seriously ill. My family were extremely concerned when they heard the news as a friend of ours had lost all four limbs to sepsis.
I ended up spending 10 days in Eastbourne Hospital in Sussex on IV and oral antibiotics. I had so many blood tests and those blood tests continued for six months after I was discharged.
It was a very strange Christmas. On our ward on Christmas Eve we listened to a recording of the carols from Kings College Cambridge on an iPad. It was really moving.
My family drove to the hospital on Christmas Day but were unable to visit due to the rising Covid cases. They were broken-hearted and postponed Christmas until I was able to come home. As a real food lover and entertainer, it was incredibly sad to be in hospital managing just about a yoghurt for lunch. I still knew it was Christmas Day but I was suffering from nightmares and not sleeping well so I was just glad that I didn’t lose consciousness. The children had delivered some grapes and watermelon. Once we were through quarantine it was the best thing I’d tasted. It’s the only festive period I’ve lost a stone.
My friends sent Christmas videos so that I could watch them on my phone. It was so cheering but also – understandably – made me cry!
During my recovery, my daughter Hannah, who is 25, and my son Thomas, who’s 23, and my boyfriend were a huge help to me. And my outlook now is very positive. I have been able to return to my work as a florist and we have had an amazing summer of weddings this year. I have also bought a boat as my dream is to sail the Atlantic! My sepsis journey has taught me to live every day to the full, and it is really important to me now to share my story to raise awareness.
My message to others would simply be that if you are at all concerned that you may have the symptoms of sepsis and they are getting worse, don’t leave it – it won’t get better in the morning…