'Grateful to be alive': Personal trainer on road to recovery after losing feet to sepsis
The first thing James Mackay was told on waking from a coma was just how close he had come to death.
A personal trainer, the 52-year-old's life had revolved around fitness and health.
Now he is learning how to walk again after undergoing a double amputation due to sepsis.
As well as losing both his feet to the condition, surgeons also had to remove his fingers.
He told ITV News Anglia: "I got to hospital and went into multiple organ failure due to sepsis. I woke up a couple of weeks later.
"I just knew that I was in trouble, that something really significant had happened because I couldn’t move. I couldn’t talk, move my arms or my legs, anything. I was just lying on my back and covered in all these tubes.”
Mr Mackay, from Cranfield in Bedfordshire, did not recognise himself. He had lost half his body weight and all the strength he had built up as a personal trainer
“It never seemed that bad," he said.
"I would have thought [that] sounded crazy. If someone had said that to me before I would have thought they were mad. But I was just so grateful to be alive.”
What is Sepsis
What is Sepsis?
What is Sepsis?
Sepsis is life threatening condition, also known ads blood-poisonong or septicaemia.
It's is one of the most common illnesses bringing people into hospitals in the UKIt affects 250,00 people a year. Two and a half times the number admitted following heart attacks.
The illness can be very difficult to spot, and often develops after an infection, due to an overreaction of the immune system.
Symptoms often resemble other common illnesses like flu or a chest infection.
What should you look out for?
What should you look out for?
The NHS says that common symptoms include:
blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
difficulty breathing
In addition young children may have a a weak, high-pitched cry that's not like their normal cry.
How is it treated?
How is it treated?
Sepsis needs hospital treatment.
Doctors will use antibiotics to try and spread as there is a danger of it worsening quickly.
Health professionals say if you suspect you, or a loved one has sepsis, contact doctors immediately.
Dr Ron Daniels, of the UK Sepsis Trust, said the condition can be hugely debilitating.“We tend to say to people you may not get back to the life you had before, there may be some better aspects to it, because of your reflections around your illness, but it’s ok. Be patient. Be patient with yourself, have those around you be patient with you and look to a future where you can get back to a degree of normal life.”
There have been challenging moments along the way.
“I can remember the occupational therapist giving me a toothbrush. It was so frustrating, and we had a few swearwords in there.
"I said I’m never doing this again and I genuinely meant it. Then a couple of months later, I was brushing my own teeth.”
Now Mr Mackay has an ultimate target in mind.
“Eventually I will be walking again and then my next goal will be to run again. So, I’ve got loads of things that I can accomplish.”
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