Sepsis mum loses limbs after doctors’ ‘blundering’
A MOTHER’S legs and right hand were amputated after she developed sepsis when doctors failed to spot she was suffering from tuberculosis.
Lydia Galbally, 41, was left fighting for life and spent 11 days in a coma.
When she came round she discovered sepsis treatment had affected blood flow, causing gangrene to set in. Doctors performed five operations to remove both legs below the knee, her right hand and the fingers of her left hand.
Mother- of-two Mrs Galbally, pictured, had previously spent weeks complaining to doctors about suffering from a cough and wheezing but was told it was asthma or a common chest infection. The event planner and her husband Dan are now considering legal action as she recovers at home and adjusts to life in a wheelchair.
Mr Galbally has launched a crowdfunding appeal to raise £ 250,000 towards cuttingedge prosthetics in the hope his wife, who enjoyed art, dancing, skiing and playing the piano, can lead as normal a life as possible.
He said: ‘Lydia has been incredibly brave and outstandingly strong-minded throughout. She has shown what a truly remarkable person she is.’
Mrs Galbally, of Rayleigh, Essex, began coughing last year and was eventually referred for checks in early September. Her condition rapidly deteriorated over three days. She was rushed to hospital in an ambulance where she was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and went into septic shock. She was later placed in an induced coma.
Mr Galbally said: ‘Sadly a result of the treatment for the sepsis was to cruelly restrict the blood flow to her hands and feet. At one point during the first week most of her face had turned a mottled blue/ black.’ She later had to make the difficult decision to go ahead with the amputations. The gofundme page – gofundme.com/feetand-hands-for-lydia – had attracted nearly £82,000 in donations by yesterday.
The Daily Mail has been campaigning to improve sepsis care and awareness since 2016. There are 250,000 cases each year, with one in five fatal.