Double tragedy as same disease claims lives of twin sisters

A Kelty family has been plunged into mourning for the second time by the death of twin sisters less than a year apart.

Emily Ireland was only 59 when she succumbed to sepsis last year.

Only 11 months later her twin sister Jeanie Cook also lost her life as a result of the same illness.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition which happens when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs.

Common signs and symptoms include fever, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate and confusion. It is vital it is treated immediately. Emily’s daughter Donna McFarlane said it was “crazy” that the two sisters had died in the same way.

She said her aunt Jeanie had initially fallen down some stairs and needed major surgery to her shoulder as a result.

Donna said it had been a major operation but the family believed her aunt was recovering well.

She was prescribed morphine, which caused constipation, which in turn led to complications.

She was initially taken to Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline but medics called immediately for an ambulance to transfer her to the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, where her illness was diagnosed.

“As soon as we heard the word sepsis, my auntie knew she wasn’t going to make it because she’d seen what it had done to her sister,” said Donna.

Jeanie’s condition deteriorated and the distraught family were advised to prepare for the worst and say their goodbyes.

She said the family were still in shock and losing her aunt had brought it all back again.

Her own mother Emily first contracted sepsis while in hospital in 2013 but she slowly recovered.

However, she fell ill again last year and was unable to fight the condition.

Donna said more needed to be done to spread the word about the warning signs.

She and her family have organised a charity disco at Kelty Club on Saturday April 7 in aid of Feat – the Fiona Elizabeth Agnew Trust.

It has launched a Scotland-wide campaign to raise public awareness of sepsis.