“Everyone assumed I had a bad hangover. I did too, at first. I was wrong.”
Elle Black is 21, a first-class graduate in Media, Journalism and Culture from Cardiff University, and currently works at a retirement village in Warwickshire, where she helps organise events for residents. She’s a keen runner and cold-water swimmer and is currently training for the London Marathon. In February 2024, during her first year at Cardiff, an ordinary night out watching rugby with friends was followed by an illness that nearly killed her – and that almost everyone, including Elle herself, initially mistook for something far less serious.
A big night, and symptoms that didn’t add up
The day before she became ill, Elle had been out watching the Six Nations with friends – Scotland vs Wales, England vs Italy – and a big night followed. When she woke up feeling dreadful, the explanation seemed obvious.
“Naturally, everyone, including me at first, assumed I was just suffering from a bad hangover,” she says.
But the feeling was different from anything she’d experienced before, and it didn’t pass the way a hangover does. She became overwhelmingly drowsy, couldn’t keep any food down, and developed a high fever that left her swinging between feeling hot and cold. On 4th February, she had an online GP consultation, where laryngitis was suspected and antibiotics prescribed, but by that point, Elle was already too unwell to collect the prescription.
The turning point came when intense muscle pain set in.
“That’s when I realised this wasn’t a hangover or a virus,” she says. “It was something much more serious. I went straight to hospital.”
“I was overwhelmingly drowsy, couldn’t keep food down, and swinging between hot and cold. That’s when I knew this wasn’t a hangover.”
Trusting her instincts that it was sepsis
When Elle arrived at hospital, she told the team she was worried it could be sepsis. They took her seriously immediately.
She was triaged within 15 minutes. Less than half an hour after arriving, she was already receiving IV antibiotics and fluids. Doctors later confirmed that her sepsis had developed from quinsy, a serious complication of tonsillitis.
“Recognising the symptoms of sepsis, trusting my instincts and getting to hospital quickly made all the difference to my recovery,” Elle says.
She was treated at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, starting on IV antibiotics and fluids before later moving onto oral antibiotics as she improved. She remained in hospital for several days while doctors monitored her condition and confirmed the infection was under control.
“I was triaged in 15 minutes. Within half an hour, I was on IV antibiotics. That speed is the reason I’m still here.”
Twelve hours that could have changed everything
Before Elle was discharged, doctors told her something that has stayed with her ever since: if she had waited even 12 hours longer before seeking help, her outcome could have been very different.
“Hearing that really brought home just how serious sepsis is, and how important it is to recognise the symptoms and act quickly,” she says. “I’m incredibly grateful that I trusted my instincts when I did.”
At the time, Elle didn’t fully grasp how serious her condition was, she was simply focused on getting through each hour. It was only a few days later, as she began to recover, that the full reality of how ill she had been set in.
Her mother still describes it as the scariest day of her life. “As soon as she realised how seriously ill I was, my family dropped everything and got to the hospital as quickly as they could,” Elle says. “Like many people, they knew very little about sepsis beforehand. It opened all our eyes to how quickly it can develop, and how it can affect absolutely anyone, regardless of age or how healthy they are.”
“The doctors told me that if I’d waited another 12 hours, my prognosis could have been very different.”
A slow sepsis recovery, and a lasting change in outlook
Although Elle made a full recovery and didn’t need ongoing medical treatment after leaving hospital, getting there wasn’t quick. “Sepsis really takes it out of you,” she says. “Even after the infection had been treated, I was left feeling exhausted for weeks.”
The experience has stayed with her well beyond her physical recovery. “It’s completely changed my perspective,” she says. “I no longer take my health for granted, and I’m much more aware of listening to my body and trusting my instincts.”
Why Elle believes sepsis awareness should be part of university induction
Elle is sharing her story because she wants people to understand a simple truth: sepsis can happen to anyone, at any age, at any level of fitness. She was 18 years old when it happened to her.
“Looking back, recognising the symptoms and seeking help when I did is what saved my life,” she says. “I also believe we need to do more to educate young people about sepsis.”
Her suggestion is a direct one for universities and students’ unions: “Personally, I think recognising the symptoms of sepsis should be a mandatory part of university induction. Students are often living away from home for the first time and making decisions about their own health. Knowing what sepsis looks like could make the difference between seeking help in time or dismissing the symptoms as something less serious.”
Her message to others is simple. “Make yourself aware of the symptoms of sepsis. It can happen to absolutely anyone. Trust your instincts. If you or someone you know becomes suddenly and seriously unwell, don’t be afraid to seek urgent medical help. It is always better to be checked than to wait, because with sepsis, every minute matters.”
“Recognising sepsis symptoms should be mandatory in university induction. It could be the difference between seeking help in time – or dismissing it as something less serious.”
Why tonsillitis and quinsy should be part of the freshers’ flu conversation
Freshers’ Week brings together large numbers of students in shared accommodation, crowded social settings and disrupted routines – all of which can increase the spread of infections such as tonsillitis. While many cases resolve with treatment, tonsillitis can sometimes progress to quinsy, a painful abscess around the tonsil that, in somecases, can lead to sepsis.
Like pneumonia and urinary tract infections, tonsillitis is a common illness that can become much more serious if an infection develops or spreads. Sepsis rarely announces itself clearly. It often develops from infections that seem familiar and manageable, which is why it can be so easily overlooked.
The overlap with hangover symptoms is what makes Elle’s story especially relevant during Freshers’ Week. Drowsiness, nausea, exhaustion and feeling generally dreadfulafter a night out are symptoms many students might put down to alcohol, lack of sleep or freshers’ flu. Elle’s experience shows why it is so important not to dismiss symptoms that are severe, getting worse, or feel out of proportion to what you would normally expect.
How Elle’s story reflects the UK’s top sepsis research priorities
Elle’s case connects clearly to two of the specific priorities established by the Sepsis Priority Setting Partnership, the two-year collaboration between Sepsis Research FEAT and the James Lind Alliance that surveyed almost 1,700 patients, carers and clinicians.
Priority 8 – “How does an infection lead to sepsis?” – sits at the heart of Elle’s story. Her sepsis developed from quinsy, itself a complication of tonsillitis: a chain of escalation from a common throat infection to a life-threatening emergency in a matter of days. Understanding exactly how and why some infections tip into sepsis remainsone of the most fundamental unanswered questions in the field, and Elle’s case is a vivid real-world example of that uncertainty in action.
Priority 9 – “Would treatment before admission to hospital, for example provided by GPs or ambulance crews, improve outcomes for people with sepsis?” – is also directly relevant to Elle’s case. Her GP consultation on 4th February suspected laryngitis and prescribed antibiotics, but by then she was already too unwell to collect them. Research into what pre-hospital recognition and treatment pathways might look like, and whether earlier intervention at the GP or ambulance stage could change outcomes, speaks directly to the gap in Elle’s own journey to diagnosis.
“I know first-hand that recognising the symptoms early can save lives, that’s why raising awareness and funding research matters so much.”
Know the signs – especially after a “big night”
Elle’s story is a reminder that sepsis can closely resemble a bad hangover in its early stages. Seek urgent medical help if hangover-like symptoms are accompanied by any of the following, or fail to improve when a hangover normally would:
- A high fever, or swinging between feeling very hot and very cold
- Inability to keep food or fluids down
- Extreme drowsiness or difficulty staying awake
- Intense or unusual muscle pain
- A sore throat or tonsillitis that suddenly worsens
- A feeling that something is seriously wrong, beyond a typical hangover
“It is always better to be checked than to wait. With sepsis, every minute matters.”
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Charity Comment:
Sepsis Research FEAT is so grateful to Elle for sharing her story to raise awareness of sepsis among students and young people, and for campaigning for sepsis symptom recognition to become part of university induction. If you are a student who has suffered with sepsis and would like to share your story, please get in touch. Raising awareness of sepsis saves lives.