Primary school teacher loses legs after flu symptoms develop overnight
A primary school teacher lost both her legs after developing flu-like symptoms and seeing her condition deteriorate overnight.
Julianna Bransden, 44, spent Christmas with her family and enjoyed the festive period, despite feeling under the weather.
But the family's happiness was interrupted when they received the news that Julianna's aunt, who lived in Northern Ireland, was taken ill on Christmas Eve and unexpectedly died of sepsis a few days later.
After being rocked by the heartbreaking news, Julianna's own condition deteriorated rapidly too.
On New Year's Eve, the mum-of-two was showing flu-like symptoms and was "stuck in bed" while resting - but the following day, her condition dramatically went downhill.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
Julianna lost both her legs (Jac Burgess)
The mum-of-two was taken to hospital after her condition deteriorated overnight (Jac Burgess)Julianna's sister Jac Burgess said her condition was worse than the family thought, with the woman's husband Tim saying she "could not lift her head off the pillow" and that his wife had not been able to check her phone for over a day.
The teacher also said she did not feel as though she could "sit in A&E for six to eight hours" or even get in the car, Lancs Live reports.
Tim then called 111 and was advised that his wife should get some rest because she was young, healthy, and fit.
But instinctively, Tim called an ambulance which arrived at their home in South Wales within five minutes - a call that ultimately saved her life.
Sister Jac, who owns a veterinary practice in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, said: "The doctors told us after that Julianna's body was basically compensating for her, and had hidden how bad and ill she really was.
"She's young and healthy but suddenly fell off a cliff. In a timeframe of 30 minutes, her heart had stopped twice."
After one hour or two of Julianna being admitted into hospital, her mum received a call from the medics who explained that she has sepsis and needed to be on a ventilator. As a result, Julianna spent 66 days in ICU, being treated for septic shock and organ failure.
Jac added: "They said Julianna was in a 10-litre hydration deficit and was in septic shock. When she first went into hospital, she was so dehydrated they said that her lips looked like if you touched them, they would have cracked completely."
Doctors found that Julianna had aggressive pneumonia, influenza and invasive Strep A on the day she was admitted on New Year's Day. At 9pm that evening, the family were told she may not make it through the night.
Julianna with her husband Tim and her two children, William and Emilia (Jac Burgess)"There was a nurse there that had been working for eight years, one for 22 and another for 10 and they all said they've never seen a patient crash that dramatically," Jac continued. "It's just been crazy."
Disabled woman paralysed after falling from wheelchair on plane walkway dies
Julianna, who lives in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, was admitted to Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest with Jac describing the staff as "phenomenal".
As a vet, Jac is used to being in medical environments, but said that seeing her own sister in that situation was "just horrible".
In total, Julianna has spent over two months in ICU, being given one-on-one, around-the-clock care and full life support.
After weeks of fighting for her life, she woke up with severe damage to her hands and feet, having to undergo surgery to have both of her legs amputated below the knee.
She will also lose most of her fingers, as they've been severely affected by the sepsis.
Jac said: "We were just desperately praying that she would just survive. I think with sepsis, people just think you either die or you survive.
"But with Julianna's condition, we want to raise awareness that it's not just being in hospital and being a life or death situation."
She added: "We're now very confident that she's coming home. Her character as well, she's determined she's not going anywhere."
After being in somewhat of an induced coma for three weeks, doctors wanted Julianna to attempt to communicate with them. On the first day, they tried having her blink to respond to questions.
However, it was better than her loved ones could ever imagine, as on the second day, the nurse informed her mum that Julianna had started talking, a milestone that usually takes patients at least five days.
"She's been scarily stoic and super resilient," Jac said. She's not just smiling for the pictures, she genuinely is. The only time she changed was when we were going through the GoFundMe and she only got upset because I was upset.
"She's doing so well, I just can't imagine what it's like to not even be able to have a good cry and wipe away your own tears. She's a superstar." Julianna is mother to "two beautiful kids," William, 11 and Emilia, 14.
Having been a primary school teacher for the last 19 years, she is dedicated her life to helping children.
Working through her recovery, Julianna will return to her home in Narberth, Pembrokeshire in a wheelchair, and the family were raising vital funds for her home to be adapted, as well as to pay for her prosthetics and anything else she may need in the future.
Jac said: "She's got a long road ahead of her, rebuilding her muscles that have basically disappeared and finding new ways of using her hands.
"She was a really good pianist, so she may not be able to do that again. But we are feeling incredibly blessed and thankful. She's improving and that's something we never would have dreamed of a few weeks ago."
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition, but can be hard to spot. According to the NHS, it happens when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
It is not contagious and is sometimes called septicaemia or blood poisoning. Anyone with an infection can get it, and it's not always possible to prevent.
If a baby or a child has any of these symptoms, it is advised to call 999 or go to A&E:
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
