Mum-of-six from Gwynedd faces losing parts of fingers and toes after doctor said 'go back to bed'

A mum-of-six who was told she could "go back to bed" by a doctor now faces losing parts of her fingers and toes, after she went into multiple organ failure.

Michelle Griffiths, from Llanllyfni in Gwynedd, was initially prescribed antibiotics for what was believed to be a kidney infection in December 2022, according to her brother-in-law Sion Hughes.

The single mum and full-time carer received a follow up house visit from a doctor who said "everything was fine" and that should could "go back to bed", despite no improvement in her health.

Two days later, the 38-year-old decided to drive herself to Ysbyty Gwynedd where she was diagnosed with pneumonia, sepsis and a possible blood clot on the lung.

Described as a "nightmare" by relative Mr Hughes, Ms Griffiths faces a lengthy recovery and has been moved around different hospitals.

"On January 4, the doctor came round to visit her as she was really poorly, but he kept saying 'she's alright, she's alright' and 'you can go back to bed'. Then, two days later, she had to drive herself to Ysbyty Gwynedd in absolute agony.

"We got a phone call at around 6am the next morning, saying: 'You need to come in, it's your sister-in-law. She's not in a good place. We're not sure if she'll pull through, but we've sedated her and had to take her to Glan Clwyd'", he explained.

It was when Mr Hughes arrived at the hospital he was told the extent of the situation: "When we got there, we were told she had multiple organ failure, so her liver, her kidneys, her lungs - everything had stopped working essentially.

"After a week or so, she still wasn't getting any better, and then she had pneumonia and a possible blood clot on the lung, which then caused a sepsis infection.

"Her feet turned black, and her thumb also turned black.

"After five weeks in Glan Clwyd, they transferred her to Bangor, where they finally un-sedated her. At the moment she is finally starting to come through it a bit but I wouldn't wish this on anybody", he added.

Given her condition, Ms Griffiths will need to have "the top of her feet and thumb amputated" as the family set up a fundraising page.

"We really want to help her and raise any amount of funds we can for her. It's going to be a nightmare now to get the funds to turn her life around as a result of this.

"It's honestly been heartbreaking to give everything up, and change our households around so we can take care of her kids for now."

Mr Hughes described the staff at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and Ysbyty Gwynedd as "absolutely fantastic" in their treatment.