A dad who visited hospital with a ''slight temperature'' had his leg and arm amputated after developing sepsis.
Junaid Ahmed, 35, was fighting for his life and in a coma for six weeks, and is now trying to raise £100,000 for a bionic arm so he can hug his kids.
He went to A&E with suspected flu, collapsed in A&E and woke up six weeks later in intensive care after being diagnosed with sepsis.
The married father-of-two had his right leg, his left arm and left toes amputated. He has since returned home and is keen to get back to ''normal life'' as soon as possible.
READ MORE: 'We thought our son was just being difficult but finding out why has changed our lives'
Junaid, who works in recruitment, from from, Ilford, East London, said: "I'd had a temperature for a couple of days and it wasn't showing any sign of going away so I decided to go to my local A&E to get it checked out.
"The last thing I remember is having something to eat with my wife as we waited to be seen. "Apparently I passed out and the next thing I remember is waking up in hospital six weeks later. Waking up six weeks later was the biggest shock of my life.
"I was terrified and so confused. Shortly after medics broke the news that to give me the best quality of life, I'd have to have my right calf, left forearm and left toes amputated.
"In that moment, I told them to do whatever they could. I just wanted to live for my family, my kids and wife. I can't wait to be able to hug them properly with my new arm and I've been so overwhelmed with the support so far with the fundraiser."
In September 2021, Junaid started experiencing a tingling sensation in his right foot. He had chronic back pain, and had a spinal cord stimulator inserted, in May 2022, at private hospital, in Chigwell, Essex.
Junaid said: "It didn't help at all if anything it got worse. "I could barely to walk around because my back and foot was in so much pain. What hurt the most was I wasn't able to play with football with my two boys."
In June 2022 Junaid went to A&E at Queen's Hospital in Romford, East London, with a temperature but ended up ''blacking out''.
Doctors diagnosed sepsis which had caused his liver, heart and lungs to fail, and placed Junaid into an induced coma. Two weeks later he was transferred to University College London Hospital, Euston, to save his life.
Sepsis is the body's overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.
Doctors think he caught an infection, which led to sepsis, as a result of his spinal procedure months earlier. He woke up in intensive care at University College London Hospitals, in July 2022.
Junaid, who was with wife Rabia Ahmed, 30, said: "The last thing I remember is having something to eat with my wife as we waited in A&E.
"Apparently I passed out and the next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital six weeks later. When I woke up, I was terrified and so confused. I was like a vegetable and couldn't move.
"My wife, Rabia, was by my side and began to explain what had happened. I couldn't believe everything and I felt for her having to experience everything for me.
"Immediately after I asked about the kids and she reassured me that they were with my parents at home. I just wanted to give them a big hug."
Doctors explained he had hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare disease caused by an overactive, abnormal response of the immune system- which was further compounding his health problems.
As a result of HLH, low blood pressure and sepsis, Junaid underwent multiple blood transfusions during his coma. They saved his life, but the blood flow to his foot, arm and toes had already dropped so low they had started to die.
Medics broke the news Junaid would need to have his right leg, his left arm and left toes removed in order to give him the best quality of life.
In September 2022, he had two four-hour amputation surgeries and spent a further two months in UCLH before starting physiotherapy in November 2022.
Junaid said: "I arrived at the rehab centre on a stretcher as I was unable to move at all. Within two days they had me in a wheelchair - it was incredible.
"Every time I told the nurses there that I 'couldn't do it' they'd tell me that 'no wasn't an option'. It was the tough love that I needed, and after two weeks I saw a massive improvement in my strength. I kept thinking about my wife and kids and that kept me going."
He got a prosthetic leg in January this year, and walked back into his home in Ilford where he was greeted by his family. Junaid said: "I was determined to walk out of the physio centre for my wife and two children. My wife, Rabia, has been my rock throughout it all.
"Life is different; my teeth have become my 'left' forearm and I used my left armpit to use shampoo but I'm on the mend. Whilst it's going to take me some time to get back on my bike, I am hopeful that it'll be this year!
"If I can get my bionic arm, I'll be able to get back into the gym properly. I miss being active - it makes me the best version of myself for my wife and our kids."
Junaid has started a GoFundMe to buy a bionic arm and so far has £10,000 donations. To donate, follow the link by clicking here.
READ NEXT:
The idea that could help solve Greater Manchester area's 40,000-to-one problem
- Man facing £7k a year energy bills wants to 'rip out' government-backed heat pump that's 'left home cold'
- Grandad's own lawyer slams him as 'strikingly unsuccessful' criminal after smashing car into pregnant mum's house
How to check your pension - including how much you can get and when
