Although she pulled through, she still suffers trauma recovery and survivor guilt, as she tells us here.
“It was hell. During and since.
“I had atypical symptoms, muddled due to presenting with erythema nodosum and erythema multiforme simultaneously. I was clearly fighting a substantial multi-system infection, but no-one succeeded in identifying it until seven days after admission.
“I was admitted to a rheumatology ward with a suspected auto immune disease due to my swollen joints, then a respiratory ward (due to pressure on beds).
“The (wrong) steroids were administered long before lab results confirmed meningococcal septicaemia (strain c), and I was moved to an infectious diseases ward.
“Whilst I am incredibly grateful to have made such an extensive physical recovery, my short-term memory was affected permanently, and I still have flashbacks and survivor guilt which punctuate my mental health and decision making. My stomach, menstrual cycle and circulation were never the same again.
“But, I’m one of the lucky ones.”
