Carol Vorderman has described how her “organs began to close down” during her body’s terrifying battle with sepsis, which left her “six hours from death”.
In a heartfelt post shared with her 406,000 Twitter fans, the TV presenter revealed she had contracted sepsis in 2004.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqKK7RYhWuN/
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Sepsis is a serious complication of an infection which, without treatment, can lead to multiple organ failure and death.
On a post shared on TwitLonger, Carol wrote: “On a Saturday evening in 2004, I was rushed to hospital in London. I’d been suffering badly for a few years from gall bladder pain. I’d had a bad bout of it but, this time, nothing I usually did to calm it down was working.
“After two to three days of excruciating pain, I knew something was different. I felt as though I was slipping away somehow and asked my family to get me to hospital. They did.”
https://twitter.com/carolvorders/status/1144221673392136193
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Carol went on to say she “slipped in and out of consciousness” in the ambulance, and added thanks to the doctor who was “running A&E that night, who was aware of sepsis”.
The former Countdown star, 58, continued: “It was Dr David Nott who recognised the symptoms. He rushed me onto heavy antibiotics.
“A long time later, he told me my organs were beginning to close down and I was about six hours from death. Sepsis strikes fast, VERY fast, but it is curable if it’s recognised.”
Sepsis strikes fast… my sepsis story
Read: https://t.co/mo23BM3Be3
— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) July 4, 2019
The mum-of-two went on to reveal that a week later, Dr Nott was able to operate on her gall bladder, which was “hugely swollen”.
After a five hour operation and another week in hospital, Carol was fortunate enough to be allowed back home.
She concluded: “I can’t agree more with those who want to raise awareness of this killer @UKSepsisTrust… Thanks to quick intervention, my children still had their mother, my mother still had her daughter and I still had a chance to live.”
Fans rushed to praise Carol for sharing her story, while others were prompted to share their story, too, including one new mum who developed sepsis after her water’s broke.
One tweeted: “Thanks for sharing and raising awareness!”
Another said: “Thanks for sharing and highlighting the need to seek treatment quickly.”
Carol’s story follows today’s report by BBC News that patients’ lives are being put at risk because of delays giving them treatment for sepsis.
The pilot and author appeared on Lorraine this morning to talk about her health and admitted that, although she doesn’t weigh herself, she does 20,000 squats a year!
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