Grandmother is set to lose all of her limbs... because of a paper cut
Daughters were warned that she might die after sepsis took hold
A GRANDMOTHER faces having her limbs amputated after she fell victim to sepsis from a tiny paper cut.
Marguerite Henderson’s family were told to prepare for her death while she lay in an induced coma.
The former council support worker pulled through, but doctors now have no choice but to amputate all four limbs as a result of the deadly infection.
Mrs Henderson, from Crosshill near Lochgelly, Fife, became seriously ill in February, within days of noticing a small cut on her hand.
Her elder daughter Kim Donnachie, 27, said of the cut: ‘It was minuscule, she doesn’t even remember how she got it. It was just the size of a paper cut. By the next day it looked infected, so she went to the pharmacist to see if they had anything for it.
‘They told her to get it checked by the doctor, so she got an appointment for the next day.’
But Mrs Henderson, 54, felt too ill to make the appointment and the following day she became even more unwell.
Mrs Donnachie said: ‘By lunchtime she was so unwell she couldn’t walk. Her lips were blue and she was turning grey, so we rushed her to hospital.’
The family were told by doctors at Victoria Hospital, in Kirkcaldy, that Mrs Henderson had contracted sepsis, also known as blood poisoning.
Sepsis is a rare but deadly reaction to an infection which can be caused when a cut allows bacteria to enter the body.
Mrs Henderson was taken to intensive care when her organs began to fail. She was put on dialysis and placed in an induced coma.
Mrs Donnachie said she and her sister Emma, 18, were warned to expect the worst. She added: ‘As soon as she was put to sleep they told us she could die.
‘We’ve found out now nurses were told it was just a matter of time, but she’s been a fighter.’
Mrs Henderson was kept in the coma for seven days, but despite recovering from the infection, the damage caused meant blood had not been able to reach her hands and feet, causing the tissue to die.
Doctors will carry out the amputation surgery during the next two weeks.
Initially, the family were devastated by the diagnosis, but they are now determined to do all they can to ensure Mrs Henderson can live as active a life as possible when she returns home. They have set up a crowdfunding page in an attempt to raise £80,000 to help make her as comfortable as possible so she can make the most of her life with her granddaughters, Erin, six, and 17-month-old Gracie.
The NHS can provide basic prosthetics but Mrs Donnachie is determined to buy a bionic hand, prosthetic legs and an electric wheelchair to enable her mother to live as full a life as possible.
‘She used to drive and would always be on the go,’ Mrs Donnachie said.
‘She was so devastated about it all but now she is saying she knows she’s lucky to be alive. She wants to make the most of her life and enjoy being a grandmother.’
Sepsis kills around 3,500 Scots a year. Common signs and symptoms include fever, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, and confusion.
The condition can be triggered by an infection in any part of the body.
The Scottish Government launched a publicity drive raising awareness of the symptoms, following a campaign by patients and the Scottish Daily Mail.