Family in shock as twins die of sepsis a year apart
twin sisters have died within a year of each other after they both contracted sepsis while in hospital.
Jeanie Cook died when she caught the deadly infection after she was admitted to hospital following a fall.
Her death came only 11 months after her twin Emily ireland died from the same condition at the age of 59.
Mrs ireland, of Kelty, Fife, had contracted sepsis in hospital in 2013 and had been slowly recovering until early last year the infection returned, leading to her death.
Her 60-year-old sister, also of Kelty, had been taken to hospital in December to
‘Knew she wasn’t going to make it’
undergo surgery on her shoulder and initially appeared to be recovering well. However, her condition rapidly deteriorated and she die on December 16.
Yesterday Miss ireland’s daughter Donna McFarlane said: ‘My auntie Jeanie had a high pain threshold so when she said, “i can’t take any more”, we knew she physically couldn’t.’
She added: ‘She heard the word sepsis and she knew automatically because of what had happened with my mum she knew she wasn’t going to make it.
‘we can’t believe it. it’s crazy because their bond was so strong. they did everything together. For them to both be born together and then die of sepsis is just something else.
‘it was unexpected. Mum wasn’t feeling well and the doctor had been out a few times. we then took the decision to take her to hospital and she was transferred straight to intensive care.
‘that was at 2am and by 11pm she had gone. i’d asked for an update at 8pm and was told to prepare for the worst.’
Miss McFarlane said that if treated within the first ‘golden hour’ there is an 80 per cent increased chance of survival, so it is crucial that doctors know how to spot it. Sepsis is a rare but serious complication of an infection and without prompt treatment can lead to organ failure. it kills one person in Scotland every four hours.
the Scottish Government has launched an awareness drive following a campaign by the Scottish Daily Mail.
Mrs McFarlane is now raising funds for sepsis charity the Fiona Elizabeth Agnew trust and said: ‘there are 44,000 deaths from sepsis a year in the UK.
‘if we’d known more about the symptoms i just feel like i’d have known it was sepsis and been able to do something quicker.’