Helen Caffrey, a former ambulance service road crew member, never imagined that she would one day find herself fighting for her life against sepsis. Despite her medical awareness, she didn’t initially suspect sepsis when she began feeling unwell three weeks after surgery. Instead, she trusted the reassurances of her surgical team, who advised her to eat slower and rest. However, as her condition deteriorated, she knew something was seriously wrong. She said: “Even with my awareness, I didn’t suspect sepsis but I knew I wasn’t right.”
Helen experienced several key sepsis symptoms, including feeling pale, sweaty, and shivery, an inability to get warm, and an overwhelming sense that she was going to die.
Despite her medical background, she did not immediately recognise the symptoms in herself. Helen said: “I thought I was very aware, I had been road crew for the ambulance service for four years and treated many with suspected sepsis.”
Eventually, Helen drove herself to the hospital, where her surgeon agreed to run blood tests. She endured a grueling 14-hour wait in the hot clinic for blood results and a CT scan before finally being admitted to the hospital at midnight. Alone and terrified, she was on the brink of death.
Doctors fought to contain the infection and repair the damage. She said: “I spent three months in intensive care whilst the team tried to seal my leak, the top of my stomach had ruptured and leaked into the cavity and had been for some time, it smelt like bin juice!”
It was a harrowing ordeal, and even now, two years later, she continues to struggle with daily nausea and difficulties with food intake. However, she has come to value life differently, listening to her body and learning to choose her battles carefully. Helen said: “I’ve learned to listen to my body, to choose my battles as every day is hard in different ways.”
Helen Caffrey unwell with sepsis
Looking back, Helen wishes she had trusted her instincts sooner. To others, she said: “Trust your instincts and always be kind to yourself, nothing will be the same but it is so worth it, cherish the moments and pick the battles, some aren’t worth your time but the ones that are, are doable.”
She also highlights the importance of support from loved ones: “Loved ones need to be strong and remind the sufferer why they have to fight, I could hear my son telling me even on the darkest days – it gave me strength.”
At 50, Helen was fit, healthy, and active when sepsis turned her world upside down. She learned that when sepsis strikes, survival requires immense strength – not just from the individual but from their entire support system. She said: “It doesn’t matter what you have or do, if it’s going to get to you then you’ll need every ounce of strength you can muster, so will the people around you as they are vital to get you through – it’s a team effort.”
Helen’s experience underscores the need for medical professionals to rule out sepsis before assuming another diagnosis. She said: “Rule out sepsis before moving on, as it changes so fast and you really could change or save a life by just doing that first.”
By sharing her story, Helen hopes to raise awareness and help others recognise the warning signs of sepsis. She said: “Life is precious and we are all guilty of taking it for granted.”
