'A winter cold saw me waking up from a coma being told I had to lose my legs'
Last December, Beth Budgen started out with what she thought was just an ordinary winter cold.
But on Christmas Eve, she was rushed to hospital after experiencing pain in her side and vomiting blue liquid. Following a number of tests, it was discovered she had been battling Step A before contracting sepsis and was on the brink of death.
The 46-year-old spent the next six weeks fighting to survive in a coma, entirely missing Christmas Day and New Year. And when she finally awoke in 2023, she was dealt the devastating blow of being told she needed to have both of her legs amputated, and possibly her hands.
Having been released from hospital last week, Beth is now adapting to her new way of life and feels that she has been given a second chance to support sepsis survivors.
Surgeons were able to save her hands (Focus Features)
Beth woke up to find out she needed to lose both legs from below the knee (Focus Features)Beth, from Hampshire, said: “I’d had a cold before Christmas, but didn’t think anything of it. I was actually feeling a bit better by Christmas Eve. My sister insisted on calling for help, and it saved my life. I was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with sepsis and spent the next six weeks in a coma. I completely missed Christmas and New Year. It’s been traumatic to lose my legs, but I also feel it happened for a reason. When I am well enough to work again, I’d like to support other amputees and raise awareness of sepsis. This is my second chance at life, and I’m going to make it count.”
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Beth, a former director of service delivery, was perfectly fit and healthy when she fell ill with a cold in December last year. By the time it came to Christmas week, she felt much better and was ready to host her mum along with twin, Liza, and older sister, Andrea, 50. She said: “Mum had a cold too and wasn’t well enough to travel. My sister, Andrea, lives near mum, so the plans were changed to have Christmas at Andrea’s instead. I went there on Christmas Eve – and it was a decision which saved my life.”
She spent six weeks in a coma fighting for her life (Focus Features)On Christmas Eve, Beth started to suffer from a pain in her side and so decided to have an early night, but the pain worsened. She began vomiting blue liquid and immediately called for help. Beth was rushed to hospital where she was diagnosed with flu and pneumonia and, with her organs failing, was placed into a medically induced coma on Boxing Day. Beth recalled: “Andrea and Liza came to the hospital, and it was all happening so fast. I’d been feeling a bit off on Christmas Eve and now, I was fighting for my life.”
Her family was warned to prepare for the worst. Their festive plans were shelved as they stayed vigil by Beth’s bedside, but her condition deteriorated further. She was then transferred to St Thomas Hospital, London, and placed on an ECMO machine. Doctors there discovered she was suffering from bacterial infection Strep A, which had led to sepsis. Beth spent six weeks in a coma and when she finally woke up, she was warned her legs, and possibly hands, would need to be amputated. She also needed dialysis three times a week due to her kidneys failing.
According to Sepsis Alliance, when someone has sepsis, the clotting mechanism works overtime. As nutrients cannot get to tissues in the body, they begin to die which can cause gangrene. The skin will appeal mottled before turning black. The dead tissue must then be removed as it can cause infection to spread and if there is extensive damage, amputation is likely. Beth said: "It was such a lot to take in. I hadn’t spoken for six weeks, and my first word was: 'Yay!' My sisters were traumatised, they had been by my bedside, the whole time, willing me to pull through. Andrea had kept a diary, which was later really helpful for me, to fill in the missing pieces.
Beth was severely unwell after starting with what she thought was a cold (Focus Features)
Her foot before amputation (Focus Features)“I realised how lucky I was to have such supportive family and friends.” In total, Beth was moved around eight different hospitals. Earlier this year in February, she underwent surgery to remove her legs below the knee and also to repair damage to her lung.
In April, she had a thumb and some fingertips removed, but surgeons were able to save her hands. With help from physios and a punishing gym schedule, she has made an incredible and determined recovery. Beth added: “My little nephews call my fingers my mini-digits. They keep me smiling.”
Seven months on, she is finally home from hospital and can already walk, unaided, on prosthetic legs. Her sisters have launched a fundraiser to pay for bespoke legs and also to fund equipment and adaptations she will need in the future. But she admitted it hasn't been easy coming to terms with her new life as a 'free woman'. It's difficult for her to get in and out of the bath alone, therefore is in need of medications in her home, and she has received comments about the way she looks from strangers in the supermarket.
In a post updating her progress on her dedicated fundraising page, she wote: "Not being able to wear my legs can happen for a great many reasons, the most common being blisters on my mini legs - I loathe the terms stumps. I am not a tree that’s been chopped down - or sheer exhaustion from the effort of walking on two prosthetic legs.
Beth is now learning to walk with her new legs, which she says can be exhausting (Focus Features)
Beth on her first trip out of ICU with her sister Liza (Focus Features)"So I shall be keeping an eye on the condition of my mini legs and making sure that I don’t overdo it in terms of energy expenditure. A trip to the superstore with my mum was an eye-opener though.
"I was dressed concealing my legs and walking with one stick. I had people barging past me, other people whispering to one another questioning my use of a walking stick. Apparently, when my prosthetic legs are covered, I look too able to be given any basic considerations such as space to walk without worrying that someone will barge past too quickly and I go tumbling.
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"Much as I feel it should be up to me whether my legs are visible or covered, it seems there are practical safety reasons for 'having them out' which naively, I hadn’t considered... all a part of the learning curve of being a free woman once more!"
After an incredibly challenging year, Beth is now looking to give back in supporting other amputees and sepsis survivors. She added: "I am determined to get back to how I was – or even better than before. I recognise how lucky I am to have a second chance at life, and I won’t waste it.
“This Christmas, we’re planning the big get-together we should have had last year. The best present will just be to have my family around me. My own story of survival is a true Christmas miracle.” You can donate to Beth's cause here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/beths-sepsis-journey
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