Jessica Tuffield

Well I’m 22 years old and a survivor of sepsis…a lucky one at that.

It’s been two years since I fell ill with what I thought was just a cold. I had felt a little bit groggy and under the weather but continued to go to work and do my day to day tasks, 10 hour shifts some days, so along with feeling under the weather I was exhausted too, but I did not see what was to follow ever happening to me.

7am in the morning I woke up, and started my journey to work, my head was pounding and I did not feel well at all. I pulled my car in to work and my eye sight started to go extremely blurry and I was extremely faint. My boss at the time let me put my head down to rest in the back room, sun glasses on my eyes to stop any bright lights, tears ran down my face with pure pain. Hour or so later I just was dropped home and crawled into bed with the blanket covering me completely and sun glasses still covering my eyes. A doctor’s appointment was made and I dragged my self out of bed, into my car and down to the doctor’s I went.

As soon as my doctor saw me she knew something really was not right and asked if I had driven to the appointment ( yes I did ) not knowing how ill I was. Blood pressure was taken and heart rate was measured… that moment she blue lighted me, from then on I deteriorated at a rapid rate. I have Tietze syndrome and it had inflamed my cartilage, and had caused a chest infection which turned into sepsis.

However, once my mum and my partner had arrived at the hospital and were gobsmacked at how ill I was as and the fact I had sepsis, it didn’t sink in to them. Then the sickness started… constant sickness and hacking and breathless moments, heart rate constantly being a worry for the doctors and nurses. The following day I was sent home. Not only was I sent home with sepsis, I was sent home after being given penicillin which I am allergic too.

I remember laying on my mum’s sofa and throwing up everywhere and saying to my mum “I’m so tired, I just want to sleep now.” She kept me awake whilst the ambulance was back on its way and then the paramedics came in and checked me over, and were shocked that I was sent home with severe sepsis, in which they told us… I would not of been alive the following day if I had stayed at home… 20 years old.

Finally on a ward, in my own room, I knew the next couple of weeks were going to be hard to recover, but finally I can get on the mend. It was not simple and I was in hospital for two weeks before I was allowed home after all the tests. Sepsis took everything I had in regards to energy and will power, I was constantly tired, constantly out of breath… constantly needing to sit and rest, it took me over a year to feel back to normal.

But then a second scare… constantly nose bleeds ( which I had before, maybe 10-20 a day ) back in for tests and luckily it was all clear of sepsis.

Having sepsis has made me realise that if you feel under the weather or not yourself, you need to do something about it before that little something could turn into something much worse. I am a lucky survivor, I am lucky I still have all my limbs.. my sight… my life, some are not so lucky.

I’m lucky my mum rang that second ambulance or I would not be here today.

Be sepsis aware.