“2023 was the year I finally felt like I got my independence when I moved out of my family home, and bought my first home at age 23. On 2 September I woke up and went about my normal routine by going to the gym.
“That day I was supposed to be hosting an ‘end of summer’ party for all my friends, but I started to feel a little off. I had a temperature, a headache, and aches on my body as if I had the flu. As the day went on, it got progressively worse, so I called the party off and went to bed.
“Throughout the whole night, I was back and forth to the toilet vomiting, and I couldn’t keep anything down, not even water. Later in the evening, I went to go back to bed, and I passed out on the floor.
Glass test
“This happened again during the night, and my vision had almost completely gone. By the time I woke up the next morning, I had lost all feelings in my legs and couldn’t stand up. I had blacked out vision, and had what looked like purple bruises all over my legs, stomach and arms, so I called 111 and was booked into hospital straight away.
“I live in a flat, so a friend had to put me over their shoulder to carry me to and from the car. At this point I felt so small and weak. When I got to the hospital, they did all their usual checks, and another doctor came in to look at the marks on my legs.
“Their first instinct was to do the glass test. As soon as they did this, they went quiet and went to find another nurse. Everything from here happened so fast. They told me I had to go to another building of the hospital, but had no time to wait on an ambulance. At this point, I started to realise it was more serious, as I had previously thought it was only the flu or tonsilitis.
I was terrified
“When I got to the other part of the hospital, there were around ten doctors around me. They were trying to get as many tests done as they could, and I was put straight onto an oxygen tank.
“After this, the head nurse came in and told me I was being moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) for suspected meningitis and sepsis. She told me not to listen to the stories I’d probably heard about losing limbs or dying. Truth be told, I didn’t know a single one of these stories, and I was terrified.
“In the ICU, I was monitored overnight before being transferred to the infectious diseases unit. I don’t think the severity of what I was going through had sunk in until I asked; "So I don’t get to go home tonight?" and the nurse laughed and told me I’d be there for a long time.
Making progress
“I spent ten out of fourteen days in the infectious diseases unit until everything stabilised. I’m an extremely independent person, so to go from doing everything yourself to not being able to stand, walk, or even wash myself was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.
“I made a list every day of all the little things I managed to do, like peel an orange or lift a cup for a drink. Looking back on the list, the things are so mundane, but at the time it really was progress and was the only way I got through every day and saw the light at the end.
“The nurses in the hospital were amazing, and really made me feel more at ease in a scary, dark time. They would come in to sit and talk about my day or life outside of the hospital, braided my hair, and one lady would even come in and sing and dance around my room just to bring a little bit of happiness to my day.
Small wins
“My family used to come up and see me every day before bed, and I would show them all the new things I could do that day or read them my list of small wins. I remember how proud I felt showing them I could not walk a few steps around the room – I think we both needed to see that progress was happening, and I would get better.
“It wasn’t all sad memories, there were some really funny stories too, like when my sister took me outside in my wheelchair. I won’t even get into the carnage that happened!
“When I eventually was able to walk again after lots of physio and tears, and my tests starting to level out again, I was finally able to leave the hospital. I had to spend the next few weeks living back at my parents as I still wasn’t able to move around much, walked with a walking stick, and at this point was still covered in the purple marks from the sepsis.
New way of life
“I found adjusting to my new way of life hard, especially feeling self-conscious going anywhere, as I was worried people would look at my arms or legs and question what they were. I felt extremely lucky to be alive, but mentally I was exhausted from the daily battle, and having to relearn everything again.
Recovery
“Now, I’m back to full fitness and have made a full recovery. I went back to work gradually after about a month, and once I was back at work, started back at the gym again and going about my normal sociable life. I still have the scars on my body that were left behind, but these only serve as reminders of my experience and strength.
“My experience is something we talk about a lot as family, and everyone around me in my life tries to spread awareness as much as we can! My friend even recently did a half marathon to raise money in honour of my experience.
“The scars and marks are still on my body, but they don’t define me. They define my strength to be where I am today and show my story. Some days are still hard, and it’s hard to accept and grieve what I went through.”
