A Nottinghamshire mum whose little boy lost both his legs and nine fingers to sepsis is telling parents to trust their instincts if they think something is wrong.
Then three-year-old William's heart stopped in A&E and he was put into an induced coma after coming home from nursery with what appeared to be a mild sickness bug.
Mum Gemma Reckless, of Huthwaite, trusted her gut and took the little boy to A&E after he developed a rash and a bad cough - but little did she realise she'd nearly lose him.
Gemma said: "We urge everyone to be sepsis aware and know the signs, it could save a life. More than that, I implore every parent to trust their instincts.
"Seek a second opinion if you aren’t happy, nobody knows your child better than you. Had we left William in bed that night, he wouldn’t have survived the night. And that doesn’t bear thinking about."
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According to the Sepsis Research FEAT, approximately five lives are lost to sepsis every hour in the UK. The condition occurs when the body’s response to an infection spirals rapidly out of control, injuring its own tissues and organs which can result in multiple organ failure and death.
The five key symptoms of sepsis are confusion, uncontrolled shivering, cold or blotchy arms and legs, a very high or low temperature and not passing as much urine as usual. In January 2020, Gemma collected her son William from nursery and thought he "must have picked up a sickness bug" as he appeared tired, did not eat his dinner and vomited on the way home.
Over the weekend William, then aged 3, became progressively worse and had developed a high temperature and was very lethargic." Gemma said: "He didn’t want to eat and complained of a sore throat and had a cough. I dosed him up with calpol and kept a close eye on him."
By Monday William had a rash on his body, and a bad cough so Gemma took him straight to the GP who thought William had a virus, and advised that she keeps him on the Calpol and to bring him back if he was not better in a couple of days. Gemma and her husband Mike had never seen him so unwell and saw an article on Facebook about Scarlet Fever doing the rounds.
She said: "I looked at the symptoms on the NHS website and suspected that’s what William had. I decided to phone 111. After explaining our concerns, we were advised to take him into the out of hours centre at our local A&E."
Mike stayed at home with their daughter Georgia, whilst Gemma took William to A&E, expecting to be home soon with some antibiotics. However, the nurse examining William was concerned and called for a paediatric doctor to check him over.
Gemma said: "She had found a crackle on his left lung which needed further investigation. We were taken round to resus, where I was told they needed to X-ray his chest, take some bloods, and get some fluids into him.
"A doctor came to examine him, paying close attention to his rash and the whole atmosphere suddenly changed. His cubicle filled up with doctors and nurses”.
She was then told that they suspected William had sepsis and urged her to get Mike over to the hospital as soon as possible. They were told that William needed to be put into an induced coma so that his body could rest, and he would be transferred to the nearest paediatric intensive care unit at Queens Medical Centre.
Gemma said: "It was the start of a nightmare we couldn’t wake up from. Nothing could prepare us for seeing our little boy, ventilated with pipes and wires coming from every direction. Pumped with so much fluid his face was barely recognisable."
Once at Queen's Medical Centre, William's heart stopped beating but thankfully it was restarted by CPR. She said: "There must have been over 20 doctors and nurses around his bed, it was like a scene you only see on TV. I was shouting, begging them not to let him die. Mike had to pull me away so they could do their job."
William was placed on the maximum amount of life support the hospital could offer, and warned if his heart stopped again they would not be able to do anything. The doctors informed Gemma and Mike that the sepsis and drugs used had caused irreparable damage to Williams hands, feet and ears, and amputation was required of some level to all four limbs.
Gemma said: "I asked if he was going to live and clearly remember the doctor saying, 'We are doing everything we can'. I told them we didn’t care what he would lose, we just needed him to survive."
After a week William was able to come off the ventilator but the sepsis had also caused a brain injury, which left William unable to speak for several weeks, his kidneys had failed, and his lung collapsed three times.
Gemma said: "Thankfully, the deep purple on his ears began to fade and his ears just about fully recovered. William coped incredibly well, his amazing attitude and determination to get better meant he never stopped smiling.
"We would often find him sat in bed doing the exercises the physios had shown him, without even being asked." William underwent surgery in March 2020 to amputate both legs through the knee and below the knee and nine fingers.
His mum said: "As devastating as it was, it marked the start of William's recovery. He was sore and weak, still being fed via a nasal tube, but still smiling."
September 2020 marked a major milestone in William's recovery as he started school, which Gemma says was "one of the proudest moments of our lives" and that he has made "lots of friends." Gemma will be a guest speaker on the upcoming podcast 'Words of Sepsis' for the charity Sepsis Research FEAT.
The new podcast series will have 8 episodes released in September to mark Sepsis Awareness Month, and will speak to sepsis survivors, their family members and charity representatives to help spread awareness. Colin Graham, Chief Operating Officer at Sepsis Research FEAT, said: “We are so grateful to Gemma for taking part in our Words of Sepsis podcast and sharing the family’s experience of this devastating condition.
"Through our ongoing work, we’ve seen that providing a platform for those who have been impacted by sepsis, either personally or through the ill-health or loss of a loved one, is an extremely powerful way to raise awareness of sepsis and its symptoms.
"Our hope is that by sharing these stories via our new podcast, many more people will learn how to spot sepsis and more lives can be saved."
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