How TV Dragon almost lost his daughter to sepsis
THE daughter of millionaire businessman Duncan Bannatyne has revealed she nearly died after mistaking a deadly sepsis infection for a hangover.
Abi Bannatyne, 34, put her symptoms down to partying too hard at a friend’s wedding in France.
Following the ‘mad weekend’ she went to work feeling unwell on the Monday before returning home to bed. By the morning she was in hospital after calling 999 when her symptoms took a turn for the worse.
The mother of two lay hallucinating on the floor of a casualty unit while staff tried to find her a bed. Within half an hour doctors diagnosed sepsis, and she spent six days in hospital.
Miss Bannatyne, the eldest daughter of the former Dragons’ Den tycoon, is now speaking out to warn others about sepsis.
Without rapid treatment, it quickly takes over the body, leading to organ failure and death. The Mail launched its End the Sepsis Scandal campaign in 2016 to raise awareness of the devastating illness.
Miss Bannatyne, who works as a manager for her father’s health club and spa company, said she fell ill six months ago after she returned to Middlesbrough after friend Carly Smith’s wedding. ‘I originally thought the symptoms were just a hangover from my friend’s wedding,’ she said. ‘We had a pretty mad weekend so when I got to work on Monday I was still feeling unwell and just presumed I was still getting over it.
‘By lunchtime I was freezing cold and sitting next to a heater when one of my colleagues told me I should head home. I had a lot of pain in my lower back and felt stiff, I got into bed and couldn’t lift my head ... and then I started vomiting uncontrollably.’
Despite her family’s concerns, she insisted she ‘didn’t want to bother emergency services’.
But her condition deteriorated and at 4am she rang the NHS 111 helpline as she ‘felt like I was dying’. ‘I was told to get a doctor’s appointment first thing ... and if I couldn’t make it till then I should ring 999, but by 7am I called for an ambulance,’ she said.
Paramedics found her temperature had soared above 107F and took her to the University Hospital of North Tees. Doctors believe sepsis developed after a previous course of antibiotics failed to clear up an infection. Miss Bannatyne said she ‘dreads to think of the outcome if I had not listened’ to 111.
The Mail’s sepsis campaign was prompted by the tragic case of oneyear-old William Mead who died in 2014 following errors by doctors and staff. The NHS has since overhauled its staff guidelines and launched an awareness drive. Early symptoms include a high or low temperature, shivering, fast breathing, vomiting and severe muscle pain.