Mother lost three limbs after doctors failed to spot sepsis
A MOTHER lost three of her limbs after a hospital failed to spot she was suffering from sepsis.
Magdalena Malec, 31, had to have both of her legs, her right arm and the fingers of her left hand amputated after contracting the disease in hospital.
She also needed a kidney transplant to save her life after being admitted to hospital with an ectopic pregnancy.
Bosses at the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital have now apologised
‘I was waiting for six months for the amputation of my limbs, with stinking and decaying legs and arms’
for the medical blunder, which they accept could have been avoided.
Ms Malec said: “Now my life is not a life, it is vegetation – a fight for life.
“I was waiting for six months for the amputation of my limbs, with stinking and decaying legs and arms.
“Nothing will restore what I had. I will never paint my nails again, I will never make a ponytail for my daughter.
“I do not trust doctors and I am very sceptical about all medical appointments and diagnoses.”
Ms Malec, who is mother to Paulina, nine, and Severin, seven, discovered she was pregnant with her third child in December 2014.
But she and Robert, her partner, were devastated to be told just weeks later that she had suffered a miscarriage. She continued to experience heavy bleeding and stomach cramps, but was sent home from A&E with painkillers and anti-sickness tablets.
She returned to the hospital on Christmas Day and was finally told she had suffered an ectopic pregnancy and was admitted for surgery.
While in recovery, Ms Malec developed extensive limb ischemia, which became gangrenous and caused her body tissue to die. She later learned it was caused by a loss of blood supply due to medical staff not recognising the warning signs for sepsis and failing to follow their own sepsis protocol.
Ms Malec had to wait six months for surgery to amputate her limbs, and had to return to hospital three times a week for dialysis. During this time, her relationship with her partner also broke down due to the pressures of her disabilities. Ms Malec, from Luton, Beds, said: “I am learning how to live with pain. Going out and coping with the way people look at me is very difficult. So is self-acceptance.”
The NHS has apologised for missing all of the signs of sepsis that she was experiencing, and accepted the outcome could have been avoided. Ms Malec has received an interim payment, but is expected to receive a further payout in due course.
David Thomas, her lawyer, said: “If diagnosed early enough, sepsis is easily treated with antibiotics but despite recent awareness campaigns, mistakes such as this are still happening. It’s tragic.”