Bereaved parent Katherine Paine is sharing her son Benji’s story to help make others understand just how quickly sepsis can strike – and is calling for healthcare professionals to listen to parents like her.
On the 15th of December 2022, Katherine’s world changed forever. Her son Benjamin Paine-Newbold – known as Benji – woke up with a raging temperature and a dangerously fast heart rate. Concerned, Katherine took him to their GP that afternoon, where doctors were unable to identify the cause of his illness. With a temperature of 39°C and a heart rate nearing 200 BPM, Benji was sent to the hospital for further checks.
At the hospital, his temperature miraculously dropped back to normal, and his heart rate also settled. With no visible symptoms and no clear diagnosis, the doctors were happy for them to return home. Katherine and her family were reassured, knowing they could bring Benji back if things worsened.
The following days were uneasy but not alarming. Benji still wasn’t himself, but his fever was being managed with Calpol and ibuprofen, and he hadn’t developed any other symptoms. On the evening of the 17th – Katherine’s birthday – they were out for a family meal when Benji started to decline again. His temperature crept up, and he became grumpy and irritable. Noticing that his tongue looked like ‘strawberry tongue,’ they decided to take him to the walk-in centre the next morning, hoping to avoid a hospital visit.
Sunday arrived, and Benji woke up with another high temperature. At the walk-in centre, triage noted his fast heart rate and fever, and a doctor quickly referred them back to the hospital. Once at A&E, Katherine continued alternating Calpol and ibuprofen, trying to control his symptoms. Though his fever had slightly subsided with medication, his heart rate remained dangerously high, which was “completely out of the ordinary for Benji”.
After a long wait, a doctor finally examined Benji. He noticed some redness in his ears and throat but dismissed Katherine’s concerns that he could have Strep A, despite the infection being prevalent at the time. Katherine said: “The doctor dismissed this straight away and refused to test Benji due to him having antibiotics two weeks prior, and said it was highly unlikely that was the cause of Benji’s illness.”
Instead, they diagnosed him with Influenza A and discharged him with a standard ‘warning signs’ leaflet, telling Katherine that Benji would be back to normal in a few days.
Monday passed in much the same way. Benji remained unsettled but showed no major changes, so Katherine followed the doctor’s advice, monitoring him closely. That night, he had his usual bedtime bottle and medicine and was placed into his cot like every other night.
At 4:30 a.m., Benji woke up. Katherine brought him downstairs, changed his nappy, and gave him a drink of water – unusual for him, but she assumed it was just part of his illness. Katherine said: “He was moaning no matter what I did, but he would drift off to sleep, so I put him back in his cot.”
That was the last time she saw her baby boy alive.
Katherine woke at 8:30 a.m. with a deep sense of panic. She ran into Benji’s room and immediately knew something was wrong. Katherine said: “As soon as I saw him, I knew.” She scooped him into her arms, screaming for her partner to call an ambulance.
Desperate to save him, Katherine followed the 999 operator’s instructions, giving Benji mouth-to-mouth before performing CPR on the living room floor. Paramedics arrived and did everything they could, trying to restart his heart all the way to the hospital. But nothing worked. Katherine said: “Hearing those words will haunt me forever.”
Katherine and her partner were given time to hold Benji, kiss him, and say goodbye – moments that will stay with them forever. Walking out of the hospital without their son was the hardest thing they had ever done.
The next day, the hospital called with the results of Benji’s tests. The cause of death was Rhinovirus and Invasive Group A Streptococcal Disease (Invasive Strep A), which led to sepsis. Katherine said: “As you can imagine, our world came crashing down once again knowing exactly what took our baby boy away from us.”
Benji had been lethargic, increasingly thirsty, feverish, refusing food, and unwilling to walk or talk – signs that something more serious was happening. However, Katherine didn’t know much about sepsis at the time. Katherine said: “All I thought was that sepsis involved a rash, but in Benji’s case this wasn’t true.”
Katherine’s experience has made her a passionate advocate for parental instincts. Katherine said: “Always trust your gut and instincts, you don’t have to trust the doctors because they are trained.”
She wants parents to know that sepsis can happen even when it seems rare. Katherine said: “It’s rare, but it happens! You never think in a million years sepsis would affect your family, but we have learned just how easy it is to happen.”
Katherine and her family are now dedicated to making sure no other parents have to endure the same heartbreak. Katherine said: “We are working on stopping this happening to another family, and making sure that every parent is listened to when they take children into the hospital to be treated. Because maybe, just maybe, if they took my concerns over Benji and his behaviour seriously, then the outcome may have been different. But we will never know and will always have the what-ifs.”
Her message to healthcare professionals is simple but vital. Katherine said: “Trust parents’ instincts.”
Katherine will never know if things could have turned out differently for Benji, but she hopes that by sharing his story, other parents will push harder for answers and medical staff will take early warning signs more seriously. Sepsis doesn’t always present with a rash, and it can escalate rapidly.
Her final message is one of determination: to raise awareness, push for change, and ensure that no other family has to endure such a devastating loss.
