A husband of 57 years to Kathleen, a father to Tracy, Darren, Matthew, Lisa & Daniel and grandfather of five, 79 year-old William Cross from Thame in Oxfordshire was deeply loved by his family. He had a very close relationship with his granddaughter Laura, who kindly shared with us the story of what happened to her beloved grampy here.
It was at the beginning of 2021, and having previously been in good health, that William started getting UTIs (urinary tract infections) and was regularly prescribed antibiotics. Whilst he waited for a date for an operation on his prostate a catheter was inserted. But even with the catheter he still suffered recurrent infections.
The family then discovered that William was diabetic, although it was unclear whether it was type 1 or type 2, and he therefore required further tests.
Laura takes up the story here, ‘Grampy enjoyed his football so on 9th November 2021 I took him to see Wycombe Wanders vs Burton. It was our first game since COVID. We had a great night together as normal. When we got him back to his it was the usual cup of tea and a read of the paper. As I arrived back to my home though he called me to say he didn’t feel well. He thought it was his diabetes so an ambulance was called. The paramedics confirmed that he had a serious infection.’
It was the next day – 10th November – and in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford that William became increasingly agitated. He was placed in an induced coma in order to stabilise his condition. His family was informed by the doctors treating him that he had sepsis. William remained in a coma and was unaware of his diagnosis, but Laura says that the family was shocked. They didn’t know a great deal about sepsis, the risks or what to look out for. Laura blamed herself for having taken her grandfather to the football that evening, questioning whether it was the cold that had caused his illness or her allowing him to have handfuls of sweets. She says that she kept questioning herself and found this very difficult to get past. Even if he did pull through she wondered how he would be. ‘As a family we had never dealt with sepsis before,’ she says, ‘and the word is scary; it’s the not knowing.’
William continued to be treated at the John Radcliffe for a further two days. Doctors tried administering antibiotics via his hand but in the end had to insert the tube through a vein in his neck. Laura describes how hard it was for the family, with little or no information about sepsis and no idea of where to get support.
She says that after her grampy passed away on 12th November 2021, she wanted to raise awareness of sepsis and came across Sepsis Research FEAT. Reading other people’s stories on the charity’s website and understanding more about sepsis awareness helped her to understand that she was not to blame. She understood how quickly sepsis can take hold and cause someone to become critically ill.
She says that she now wants to help raise awareness of sepsis and its symptoms and help people to understand how quickly they need to react. ‘But importantly I want people to feel support after losing someone to sepsis. I want to do things in Grampy’s memory now and raise awareness for him.’ Laura ran the Manchester marathon for Sepsis Research FEAT in April of this year and has also signed up for the prestigious London Landmarks half marathon in aid of the charity next year.
Laura finishes by paying special tribute to her grampy. ‘He was always having a laugh – he didn’t take life too seriously. He had so much knowledge about sports and history – he could tell you anything. But he could never remember anyone’s date of birth and always got me and my mum Tracy mixed up. He was really kind, a great personality and always gave the best advice. He was the best friend you could ask for and the best grampy. He and I always went out for dinner, and on theatre trips to see his music. He always enjoyed these outings but he especially loved his footy. I really hope he would be proud to know that we are helping to raise awareness of sepsis in his name.’