Peterborough mum who faces losing limbs to sepsis hopes for prosthetics to hold son's hand once more
A mum-of-two who faces losing all four of her limbs to sepsis says she is desperate to hold her son's hand once again.
Sadie Kemp was rushed to hospital to Christmas Day with an infected kidney stone, which quickly led to her body going into septic shock, and she was put on life support for 10 days.
The 34-year-old from Peterborough woke up to find she had lost all of her fingers and is awaiting news on whether her legs will need to be amputated.
Now friends have launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy prosthetic hands so that she can look after her two-year-old son Hendrix - and one day hold his hand as she walks him to school.
“I won’t get to hold his hand on the first day of school," she told ITV News Anglia.
"But if I had prosthetics I’d feel like I’m holding his hand”.
'I need my hands'
Two months later, Ms Kemp remains in Peterborough City Hospital and is still wrestling with how quickly her life has changed - having gone from a normal Christmas morning to waking up in intensive care having lost her fingers.
“One minute I was at my mum's house on Christmas day, the next it was a brand new year." she said.
"When I first saw my limbs, I told my mum that she should have turned off the life support machine.
"I didn’t want to live with no limbs. I didn’t know how I’d cope being a mum.”
She added: "I’ve got a young child who still wears nappies and still needs feeding, and bathing. I need hands to be able to do that."
Ms Kemp, who had previously worked for the national Covid Test and Trace team, said she worried about the milestones she had always wanted to complete with her family.
Her friends are trying to raise money for prosthetics to help her achieve some of those ambitions with her children.
With some prosthetics costing in the region of £25,000 per hand, a GoFundMe page has been set up. It has already raised more than £20,000.
Ms Kemp insists she is “remaining positive” despite everything thrown her way.
She said she was grateful for hospital staff for saving her life and added she was now "taking each day at a time".
“I see a light at the end of the road," she said. "When I first woke up I wasn’t happy, but I am now.”
Sepsis is the body's extreme reaction to fighting off an infection. It affects around 250,000 people every year in the UK, with many of those suffering life-changing repercussions.
Currently in the UK one person dies every 12 minutes from sepsis, and charities are encouraging people to look out for the signs.
What are the signs of sepsis?
Confusion or slurred speech;
Blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue;
A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis;
Difficulty breathing or breathing very fast.