In just 62 hours sepsis killed half my family

were well. Upon admission, she was also diagnosed as having an infection and sepsis, which had also attacked the baby.

Treatment was started immediately, but the baby had already died in utero.

In the early hours of Saturday 25, I was discharged from the acute unit at Edi+T15.

For the remainder of the day and into the night the medical staff worked tirelessly to save Fiona’s life.

She remained critical and unstable throughout the day and had continued to bleed following the birth.

Her condition gradually deteriorated; she was being ventilated and was on dialysis by this stage.

By around 9pm on the 25th, Fiona’s condition had become more unstable and the doctors still couldn’t get her to stop bleeding. The medical staff fought to stabilise her so that they could attempt a third procedure to try and halt the bleeding.

This was the priority, as all that was happening was each time she was given a blood transfusion, she would stabilise for a short while and then gradually become more unstable again – until the next blood transfusion.

By around midnight, she was stable enough to be taken to theatre.

I told her that I loved her and would see her again soon and then she was wheeled away.

I had continued to be treated for my own infection in A&E throughout the day and was wheeled down for my final antibiotic treatment of the day at around quarter past midnight.

I was wheeled back upstairs to the relatives waiting room where our family had spent much of the previous 24 hours, at 2.20am. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and pretty much the entire medical team who had been treating Fi was lined up outside.

I knew before any of them said anything that we had lost her.

The lead consultant told me she had arrested whilst in theatre and that they had brought her back twice, but ultimately, the sepsis and septic shock had overwhelmed her body and they had not been able to save her. He said how sorry they all were. The whole family were all left profoundly shocked, devastated and simply bewildered.

I remember asking over and over, ‘What the hell just happened?’

My world had imploded within the space of 62 hours: sepsis had just killed half my family.

Before all this happened, I had known nothing about sepsis. I knew a little about septicaemia and vaguely understood it, but had never heard of sepsis at all.

Over the days following Fiona’s death, I was able to ask questions about what had happened and I learned more – much more - about sepsis.

What I found out shocked me to the core and made me realise that there was an urgent need to raise awareness about the condition and to begin tackling the appalling mortality figures.

Hence, the idea for the Trust named after Fiona was formed.

The whole family were all left profoundly shocked, devastated and bewildered ... my entire world had imploded