25 year old Becca is a medical student at the University of Southampton, currently doing a Masters of Medical Science. She hopes to qualify as a doctor in 2027 and to work as a GP longer term. She enjoys music, films, art and baking as well as volunteering, fundraising and socialising with friends. 

In November 2018, during her first few weeks at university, Becca became unwell. Her ‘freshers flu’ was to have dramatic and life-changing repercussions. She takes up her story here: 

I was settling in at university. I’d moved away from home for the first time but was enjoying living independently and meeting new friends. I was excited to be starting my course, as I had worked very hard over the previous few years to get onto it. 

I went to bed feeling fine but woke up vomiting overnight and it wouldn’t stop. A friend from home was visiting me in Southampton. After calling 111 we were taken into hospital via ambulance.  

When I first arrived in A&E in Southampton General Hospital in the early hours of the morning my signs were quite normal. By around midday, I had a 40.5 degree temperature, low blood pressure and a high heart rate. By this time I was feeling clammy, faint and confused. I was eventually diagnosed with meningococcal (B) septicaemia. The key symptoms of sepsis were spotted in A&E when I was initially admitted. It was just 12 hours between waking up vomiting and being moved to ICU and I was then placed in the induced coma just a few hours later. 

I wasn’t aware of the fact that I had been diagnosed with sepsis until after I came around from the induced coma two weeks later. I had initially treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics )before these were modified to target the meningitis specifically. 

My parents arrived just before I was moved to ICU, as they only live about an hour away. My dad went home to be with my sisters that evening but was then called back in the night as it wasn’t looking good. My parents and two younger sisters had to live through the trauma of being told I was unlikely to survive. They found it a huge shock as I had been completely well until that day. 

I spent six weeks in ICU in the induced coma. I was on ventilation and dialysis and had a tracheostomy. There then followed ten plus surgeries to amputate my fingers and both of my legs below the knees. I also had a huge number of debridement’s (a medical procedure aimed at treating wounds by removing dead, infected, or nonviable tissue in order to promote healing) and skin grafting surgeries.  

I spent a total of 3.5 months in University Hospital Southampton and Salisbury District Hospital and was then in prosthetic rehab at Queen Mary’s London for seven weeks. So it was around six months until I was back at home full-time. I had completely missed the first year of university.  I eventually returned to my studies just over a year later, in 2020. 

I am no longer receiving treatment (other than regular appointments for my prosthetics) 

I had some great healthcare staff along the way who really aided my recovery. Friends and family have given me huge ongoing support. My family has supported me throughout – emotionally and physically – and friends were fantastic: visiting, cooking and supporting us as a family.  

When I was first diagnosed I was unsure what my life would look like, whether I could go back to uni, or be a doctor…A lot of people I met or who knew me doubted that I could regain that independence or have a normal life. Receiving a hand transplant in Leeds in 2023 (4.5 years after my initial sepsis) has been the biggest step forward for me. 

Now I feel very lucky to be here and to have that ‘normal’ life. I appreciate that I am in a position to be independent. I want to raise awareness of sepsis and meningitis – particularly amongst students – as they are fast-acting diseases and early treatment means everything! 

I am sharing my story with Sepsis Research FEAT now to raise awareness that anyone of any age can get sepsis, and to do everything that I can to raise awareness. 

I want others to learn the symptoms of sepsis and know that if they are at all concerned, they should see a doctor as soon as they can! 

Charity comment: 

Becca’s story shockingly illustrates how quickly sepsis can develop in a previously fit and healthy young adult, from what initially appeared to be very ‘normal’ symptoms, and how someone’s condition can escalate rapidly. She and her family suffered huge trauma as a result.  

Becca has shown enormous resilience though, particularly in the way that she is now seeking to channel her experience to make other students aware of the dangers of meningitis and sepsis and in her desire to become a GP. 

As a charity Sepsis Research FEAT is very aware of the fact that every year students leave home to start university and the next exciting phase of their lives – rightly and properly a carefree time in their lives. It is so important, however, that students and their parents and guardians fully understand the pressing need for young people to take responsibility for their own health for the first time – ensuring that they sign on quickly with a GP and dentist in their new location. Also vital that students and others, living in close communities away from home for the time, look out for their peers and advocate for the health of others. This is potentially life-saving messaging to which the charity will return, particularly at the start of the new university academic year. 

You can read more about Becca’s pioneering hand transplant surgery here meanwhile.