GP told pregnant woman it was ‘heartburn’ - days later she was fighting for life
A mum has told the Mirror how she is lucky to be alive after contracting the deadly infection sepsis and needing life-saving surgery while pregnant with her first child.
Olivia King began to feel a pain in her right side halfway through her pregnancy with baby Emily, but being a first-time mum was unsure if this was just her body reacting to growing a baby. Her first trip to the doctors saw her sent away with some Gaviscon with the GP believing she had heartburn. But two days on and the pain was much worse, Olivia returned to the doctors.
She told the Mirror: "I went back and saw a different doctor, they took my temperature, which was high and felt my tummy and could see how much pain I was in." Olivia was rushed to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and after some test doctors revealed her appendix had burst and she would need emergency surgery. Despite being concerned for her growing baby, Olivia said at that point she "trusted the medical team and knew that the surgery needed to be done". Today, on World Sepsis Day, the mum is reminding people to trust their instincts if they know something isn't right.
Olivia struggled to eat for 10 days (Sepsis Research)
She lost a lot of weight due to the sepsis while pregnant (Supplied)Olivia developed sepsis, she was being given antibiotics to fight it and was being fed by a tube, had drains in her body for the infection to get out and her baby was monitored, while her body tried to beat it. She said: “The surgeon, who I will be eternally grateful to, explained to my partner Matt that my stomach was quite a mess and that she had got out as much infection as she could, but didn’t want to keep me under anaesthetic for too long because of the baby.”
Olivia spent the next 10 days in a side ward, with her partner Matt camped on a mattress next to her bed. She said: "I was constantly worrying about the baby but, unlike my family, I had no idea how seriously ill I was and that my condition was life-threatening.” She went on to give birth to her daughter Emily, who was born healthy but her own road to recovery was long and difficult.
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She said: “I lost a lot of weight and was very weak. Just walking was a challenge and exhausting. I remember my first shower once I had been discharged and needing a nap afterwards. When I came home I walked outside for about 20 meters then had to give up, and I'm normally quite fit and healthy.
“My outlook has changed since my sepsis experience. I would urge anyone who suspects a problem to trust their instincts and not worry about ‘being a burden on the NHS.’ Before this, I felt as if I didn’t really want to bother the doctors but now I will always go and get things checked out sooner rather than later." She added: "Just trust your instincts, especially when it comes to your children, you know them best, if they aren't quite right, you know them so go back again if you aren't happy with the answer you get."
Luckily for Olivia, during her sepsis struggle her baby girl, Emily, stayed strong. She is now a healthy and mischievous three-year-old and was joined this March by a sister, Amber.
Olivia gave birth to a healthy baby, Emily (Sepsis Research)
She is now a mum of two (Supplied)Sepsis Research FEAT's chief operating officer Colin Graham, told the Mirror: “Sepsis is the number one cause of preventable death in the world and often has life-changing consequences for those that survive. It’s a brutal condition that can come out of seemingly nowhere and Olivia’s story shows that. Thankfully Olivia has recovered, but sadly not everyone has such a positive outcome. The faster sepsis is spotted, the more chance the patient has of a positive outcome. That’s why it’s so important to know the symptoms, recognise them quickly and act fast to get treatment.”
The five key symptoms of sepsis are:
- Confusion
- Not passing as much urine as normal
- Very high or low temperature
- Uncontrolled shivering
- Cold or blotchy arms and legs
If someone has any of these symptoms and is becoming noticeably worse, this could indicate sepsis and urgent medical attention should be sought.
Sepsis Research FEAT is launching a survey today, World Sepsis Day, which will invite patients, carers and medical professionals to have their voices heard as part of a once-in-a-generation chance to direct the future of sepsis research over the next decade. The survey is available at www.sepsisresearch.org.uk
Dr Bronwen Connolly from Queen’s University Belfast added: “Sepsis is a devastating condition with widespread consequences for patients and their families. This study is incredibly important because there are still so many unanswered questions about sepsis for clinicians and researchers. With limited research funding available, it’s simply not possible to research every topic within the sepsis spectrum, so having these survey results to direct our focus for the next 10 years will ensure we are prioritising what is most important to those whose lives have been affected by sepsis in some way.”
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