Amy Barwell’s fiancé, Paul Bennett, died from sepsis on 25 October 2024, aged 59, after seven weeks of worsening illness that she says was repeatedly dismissed.
What began as back pain and nausea escalated into organ shutdown – but Paul was not admitted to hospital until two days before he died, after being dismissed by health professionals.
Amy is sharing Paul’s story to raise awareness that sepsis does not always present in a textbook way, and encourage other families to trust their instincts and push to be heard.
On 1 September 2024, Paul – described by Amy as “a fit and healthy man with no medical history” – began to feel unwell. He had a slightly bad back and felt sick. They initially suspected Covid-19.
Over the following weeks, his condition worsened. Ambulances were called. GP appointments were attended, and blood tests were taken.
Amy says some results were “off the scale”, yet she was repeatedly told it was a bad back and that Paul should be referred to a spinal specialist.
Meanwhile, his physical state rapidly declined.
In just three weeks, Paul lost two and a half stone. He stopped eating. He stopped using the toilet, and he became unable to walk.
He looked pale and slightly yellow. He was lethargic and slept most of the time, suffering from tremendous muscle pain, severe sweats and coughing. In his final days, he became confused and his speech slurred. Amy says she watched him deteriorate at home.
“Paul suffered beyond words,” she said. “He spent his final weeks sat on the sofa in the front room unable to toilet, eat, concentrate on anything or even string a sentence together.”
Despite the severity of his symptoms, she says medical professionals continued to attribute his decline to back pain and the effects of codeine.
For seven weeks, Amy was the only person caring for him, with family living far away.
“To see my fiancé crying and screaming in pain knowing I couldn’t do anything broke me,” she said. “It was the worst experience of my life, causing me to have PTSD.”
Paul was finally admitted to hospital two days before he died. On the morning of 25 October 2024, Amy said her final goodbye.
“My darling Paul was a fit and healthy man who one day on the 1st of September felt poorly,” she said. “Seven weeks later I said my last goodbyes as I kissed him on the forehead and sent him up to heaven.”
The couple should have been celebrating his 60th birthday in 2025.
“Instead I was writing a card and placing it by ashes,” Amy said.
Looking back, Amy says she knew very little about sepsis at the time.
“If I’d have known, I would’ve pushed for them to test for sepsis,” she said. She believes abnormal blood results should have triggered urgent investigation rather than repeat testing.
“I’d like health professionals to be more mindful that sepsis doesn’t always come with a standard set of symptoms,” she said.
Amy also believes previous medical notes were not fully considered when Paul attended A&E.
“Paul was a fit and healthy man with no medical history. This should raise alarm bells as his deterioration was so quick,” she said.
Her advice to others is simple and heartfelt: “If you have a gut feeling that something’s wrong, fight and make sure that your voice is heard,” she said.
If she could go back, she says she would tell herself: “Fight for the doctors to look deeper into his irregular blood results. Believe in myself and fight for the one I love.”
Amy lives with the belief that earlier intervention might have changed the outcome.
“My lawyers have advised that if he had had simple antibiotics within the first two weeks of his illness he would be alive today,” she said.
By sharing Paul’s story, Amy hopes no other family has to endure what she describes as “tremendous suffering”.
