A children's footy coach has shared a horrifying photo of how sepsis stole his lower leg - awaking to discover what he had mistaken for a simple 'cold' had eaten away his foot. Joe Ford was struck down by sepsis in March 2019 after experiencing cold-like symptoms and stomach pain, which quickly developed into doctors warning he only had a ten percent chance of survival.
The 29-year-old was put into an induced coma for three and a half weeks and 'pumped full' of antibiotics to fight off the deadly infection that was attacking his major organs. When he woke up, not only was he completely paralysed but the skin on his nose, fingers, toes and the soles of his feet had turned black and started to die as a result of the sepsis.
Joe then spent six months in hospital having his wounds treated followed by two months in a rehabilitation centre regaining movement and function in his limbs, which are still affected to this day. While most areas gradually recovered, his right foot didn't improve and an operation to remove the necrotic tissue revealed the damage the sepsis had done, with barely any healthy tissue remaining of his foot.
