17-year-old who almost died from sepsis gets 4 A*s despite sitting her mock exams in hospital
Tejal spoke to ITV Central about how she contracted sepsis and why she felt like she had to continue with her studies.
17-year-old Tejal Paliya from Derby, like most students during the pandemic, has had her education turned upside down. However she contracted a very serious bacterial infection which landed her in ICU in March - where she almost died.
Her family were warned she may not make it through, but thankfully she ended up making a full recovery. She was so determined to complete her mock exams, which would contribute to her final A-Level results - a whole year early - and was awarded 4 A*s. Tejal now has her sights set on going to Cambridge to study Chemical Engineering.
Tejal made a video diary of her time at hospital during the exams:
Credit: Royal Derby Hospital
On March 31, Tejal was admitted to the Emergency Department at the Royal Derby Hospital after falling ill. Her condition rapidly deteriorated and she was later admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
Tejal said: "On the Monday I was at school and I promised my teacher I'd give my homework in tomorrow, but because I got sick, tomorrow never arrived.
"I've always been scared of hospitals and have avoided them whenever I can, but everyone has been so kind and lovely. I feel like I've been at home."
Over the course of the next 12 days, Tejal was cared for in intensive care and gradually began to show signs of improvement.
When she woke up, Tejal had lost some of the grip in her left hand and couldn't move her hands and feet for two weeks, and had to learn to walk again.
After speaking with her teachers at Littleover Community School, plans were put in place for her to take all eight of her exams in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry in a dedicated side room on the ward.
Eight exams and 51 days after her admission, Tejal was given a guard of honour as she was discharged home to continue her recovery with her mum, dad and younger sister.
Tejal says her grades are "even better" than she expected, and wanted to thank the hospital and the school for letting her sit them.
Although she says she's really relieved, she says "I'm a year forward now so I can relax. I am just so touched by everyone's kindness and I want to say thank you to everyone."
However, she will be keeping busy in her year out, with online courses applied for and apprenticeship applications sent off.
Maggie Kumari, Senior Sister at the Hospital, said: "Every so often, we meet someone extraordinary through our work. Tejal has been inspirational to the team on the ward with her positive attitude and motivation to recover."
The proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has surged to an all-time high after exams were cancelled for the second year in a row due to Covid-19.
Hundreds of thousands of students have been given grades determined by teachers, rather than exams, with pupils only assessed on what they have been taught during the pandemic.
Pupils at Tejal's school in Derby similarly celebrated their results, with many saying they were "relieved" to finally get their results after such a turbulent academic year.
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