Being the child of a builder, I am used to seeing my dad with various cuts and grazes, often covered by a grubby plaster or two.
So, unsurprisingly, I didn’t bat an eyelid when on one scorching summer’s day, he told me about his latest drama.
He explained that while balancing tools and other paraphernalia on top of a roof at temperatures of 42C (107F) and upwards, he slipped.
Without going into too much detail, the electric drill he was holding made contact with his knee and caused it to bleed. To be fair, he’s survived far worse.
After bandaging him up and lecturing him about workplace safety, as well as warning him not to do manual labour in desert-like conditions, off he went.
That was the end of that – or so I thought.
A day or two later, I asked him how he was. He said his knee was “a bit sore” but overall declared himself fit and well. Except, he did not sound it.
Instead, he was becoming emotional and had unwarranted concerns. He also appeared confused and incoherent.
It had to be sunstroke, right? I’d warned him about working in those temperatures.
I drove him to a minor injuries unit – something he still cannot remember – and he was in and out with a fleshly bandaged knee, some antibiotics, and the all-clear. Relieved, we headed home.
But the next morning, my very-concerned mum came to see me. She said dad had sweated throughout the night and the mattress was sodden, despite his cries of feeling freezing.
At that moment, unbeknown to us, he had called a taxi to take him to the hospital. He spent the next week there under the care of staff.
Diagnosed initially with septic arthritis, leading to sepsis, he was unresponsive to medication and his leg was marked out in preparation to amputate it.
A consultant advised one more push with different drugs and thankfully they began to work.
His temperature dropped and his leg was saved.
In all honesty, losing a leg would have been the best-case scenario as he was hours away from losing his life.
Recently, sepsis has received a lot of air time and newspaper space due to its notability as 'the silent killer'.
Just this week, Dr Ranj Singh appeared on BBC Morning Live to talk about why cases are on the rise.
The topic was also the focus of radio drama The Archers’ back in 2018, when audiences listened in shock as the character, Nic Grundy, died from sepsis after accidentally cutting her arm.
What shocked me the most was discovering that it claims approximately 11 million lives worldwide every year. And in the UK, it kills more people than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined.
Statistics from the UK Sepsis Trust also reveal that at least 245,000 people every year are affected by sepsis, including 48,000 deaths and 80,000 who suffer from permanent and life-changing after-effects.
But if the signs are spotted early enough, then lives can be saved. Studies have shown that if caught within the first hour, a junior healthcare professional using basic healthcare equipment can double a patient’s chances of survival.
And last year, new technology was launched across Norfolk’s acute hospitals to speed-up sepsis diagnosis. Onsite blood culture machines mean that processing can now take place within the hospitals, thus reducing the time to see the results.
In 2017, the World Health Organisation also adopted a resolution on sepsis, making it a global priority for policymakers and healthcare authorities.
Sepsis can occur as the result of any infection, with symptoms including slurred speech or confusion – which was the main symptom my dad had – extreme shivering or muscle pain, not passing urine, severe breathlessness, and mottled or discoloured skin.
Thankfully, my dad has no lasting impact following his diagnosis, and he is still here to share his story through me in the hope it may help others.
- You can find more information about sepsis at sepsistrust.org or if you think someone is suffering with sepsis, call 999.
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