Bout of ‘flu’ left gran Dee fighting for her life
Feeling achy and tired was actually a serious infection
A super- fit gran has issued a sepsis se warning after she was left fighting fig for life following what she sh thought was a bout of “flu”.
Dee D Thomas, from Comrie, needed life-saving life open-heart surgery when she became be critically ill from a serious staph infection inf that began attacking her heart and an spine in April, 2023.
The Th 65 year-old said her only symptoms were we that she felt achy and tired before her health he catastrophically declined.
Dee D said: “I had climbed a hill on April 3 last la year and I even took a selfie smiling at the top. But when I bent down to tie my shoelace, I suddenly felt unwell.
“I went to bed with paracetamol that night but, by the next morning, I was no better. My husband Ian told me I looked terrible and I was grey in colour. I was going hot and cold but had no temperature.
“Later that evening, I told my husband to call an ambulance. I just had this very strange feeling that I needed to be checked.
“The paramedics came and my blood pressure, temperature and oxygen levels were all normal, but they asked if I wanted to go to hospital.”
Bloods taken at Perth Royal Infirmary showed Dee had a rapidly increasing infection. She was blue- lighted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where she had a valve replaced during open-heart surgery which saved her life.
Dee continued: “I was shocked at the speed the infection had taken hold. I
went from coming down with normal flu symptoms to almost losing my life in a matter of hours.
“I think doctors thought I was a goner at one point and told my family that things were not looking very good. “
Dee spent time in intensive care before being moved to a high dependency ward. It was a further month before she was allowed to go home.
She added: “Doctors told me that I had been very unlucky and probably got a germ from a little nick but they can’t be for certain where the infection came from.
“I feel incredibly lucky that I’m still here. Many people don’t make it, or the infection is too far gone to treat.
“I would tell anyone who ever has
concerns about their symptoms to call an ambulance. I probably saved myself when I decided I need to do that.”
Dee is now in the process of climbing the height of Mount Everest this month in aid of Sepsis Research FEAT.
Colin Graham, COO at Sepsis Research FEAT, said: “Sepsis is an indiscriminate, devastating, illness which takes the lives of around 50,000 people every year in the UK.
“Despite these shocking figures, many people are still unaware of how serious sepsis is.
“That is why raising awareness of this deadly condition is vital, so that more people are able to recognise the symptoms and act quickly to seek urgent medical attention and improve chances of survival.”