In Hannah M’s words, her husband of ten years Richard ‘was a fit and healthy 48-year-old when he got ill; he had never smoked, never done any recreational drugs, was active. It’s one of the reasons that the doctors think he survived how ill he was.’
That all changed on Christmas Eve 2022.
Richard’s sudden and frightening illness ultimately led Hannah to Sepsis Research FEAT and a role as a trustee of the charity. We are so grateful to Hannah for all she has done to support this charity’s work since, and to Richard and Hannah for kindly sharing his story to raise awareness of sepsis, relayed by Hannah here.
On 24th December 2022, Richard was at home in bed with flu-like symptoms. He had been unable to get up for four days, which was highly unusual for him. He struggled to walk just ten paces to the bathroom without experiencing severe difficulty breathing, and it was taking him over 30 minutes to regain his breath afterward. The doctor advised him to come in for a visit, but I told them that he was not well enough to make the trip. So we then called 111, and they recommended that he stay at home. They also provided a prescription for co-codamol to help manage his pain, which I collected.
The following morning his symptoms were not improving and his breathlessness and recovery from walking a few steps was really concerning so I called 111 again. This time they sent an ambulance to the house. Richard’s heart rate was 150bpm at this stage and his blood oxygen levels were below 90 so they took him to Wexham Park Hospital, Slough. He went straight to the MADU (Medical Acute Dependency Unit) and was then moved to ITU where within eight hours of arriving at hospital he started treatment for suspected sepsis.
Richard was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia, type A Flu, a Strep A infection and sepsis.
Richard was very worried as the hospital had been trying to stabilise his condition but had not explicitly told him how severely unwell he was. When they did so the doctor was clear that the following 24 hours would be critical and that we both needed to prepare ourselves for the fact that he might not make it.
My reaction was one of instant shock and panic. The man I love – my husband and father to our children Primrose and William, who were just six and one at the time – might not be with us tomorrow. The life we were living and had planned could change very quickly. The doctor was pretty brutal in his delivery, but it really spurred me into action to support Richard and the doctors with his care. Almost immediately I was running through the hospital with the doctors and Richard as they moved him to an ITU quarantine ward as a result of his flu.
Richard spent two weeks in the ITU, primarily on life support and initially being treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. When the results of the cultures that had been taken came back, a tailored treatment plan was put in place and he was treated with specific antibiotics aimed at combating the infections that had led to the sepsis. Unfortunately, several of the antibiotics proved ineffective, prompting the medical team to continue taking blood cultures in order to refine and identify the most effective treatment strategy for him.
In total he spent six week as an in-patient.
Since his discharge he has had injections in his vocal cords to try and improve the tone in his voice and counteract the damage from repetitive intubation. We were told that this had not been done before and was exploratory. It has given an improvement but has not cured him – he has been left with a different voice as a result of the damage. If that’s all he walks away with though we will take it! It can still impact him most weeks with his voice becoming scratchy and faint. This treatment did lead to a much-improved volume and tone, albeit not the same as it was before and not at what I would call ‘normal’ levels. Richard also needed physiotherapy to learn to walk again and improve his mobility and respiratory function.
We hadn’t heard of Sepsis Research FEAT before Richard became ill. It has helped so much to understand the number of people affected by sepsis and to understand that we are among the fortunate ones. Richard has returned to a fulfilling life with minimal lasting effects – which makes us feel truly blessed. It is encouraging to learn that we can take action to support other families facing similar challenges. Improving patient outcomes and increasing awareness about sepsis can save lives and also enhance the quality of life for those recovering from sepsis.
We are sharing our story with Sepsis Research FEAT now to provide hope and to highlight that knowledge is continually evolving. The more we learn about sepsis, the better the treatment and diagnostic options become, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for many individuals.
We have such a strong feeling now that life is for living – we have an obligation to get back out there and live it. We want others to be aware that if they are feeling extremely ill, they should consider the possibility of sepsis. People shouldn’t assume that they can simply sleep it off or that it’s ‘just the flu’ and that they will recover in a few days. Sometimes things don’t improve and with sepsis the first hour of receiving care is critical. As a family we will never again ignore symptoms such as breathlessness or wait to see if things get better on their own. Immediate action is essential.
Charity comment:
Richard’s story could have ended so differently and we are so glad that he made the recovery that he did.
Clearly key to a positive outcome are a number of factors highlighted by Hannah in her account:
- Sepsis awareness and early recognition – sepsis can develop and become life-threatening very quickly. Recognising symptoms such as extreme breathlessness and seeking medical help if you are at all concerned can be life-saving.
- The importance of speedy medical intervention – delays in treatment can be dangerous, and the first hour of receiving care is perceived to be critical for survival and recovery.
- Severe illness can affect anyone – even a fit and healthy person like Richard can develop an infection and any infection can lead to sepsis. You can read other similar accounts, such as Al’s story here.
- The role of sepsis research and advocacy – as Hannah rightly points out, raising awareness and investing in research into sepsis has the potential to save lives and improve treatment outcomes in the future.
Our thanks again to Richard and Hannah for sharing their story so openly.