A GRANDMOTHER is waiting to have all four limbs amputated after falling victim to sepsis – from a paper cut.
The family of Marguerite Henderson were told to prepare for her death while the 54-year-old lay in an induced coma for seven days.
Ms Henderson. from Crosshill, near Lochgelly, Fife, pulled through but doctors have no choice but to amputate all four limbs as a result of the horrific infection.
Now Ms Henderson’s family have launched a fundraising campaign to raise £80,000 to give the former Fife Council support worker a bionic hand, prosthetic legs and an electric wheelchair.
Ms Henderson’s eldest daughter Kim Donnachie, said: “She noticed on the Sunday that she had a tiny cut on her index finger on her right hand.
“It was that miniscule, she doesn’t even remember how she got it. It was just a paper cut.
“By the next day it looked infected so she went to the pharmacist to see if they had anything for it and they told her to get it checked by the doctor so she got an appointment for the next day.”
But the next day Ms Henderson felt too ill to make the appointment and the day after that the bad weather struck the UK.
Ms Donnachie said: “By lunchtime she was so unwell, she couldn’t walk, her lips were blue and she was turning grey so we rushed her into hospital.
Ms Henderson and her two children Kim, 27, and Emma, 18, were told by doctors at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, that she had contracted sepsis.
The next day the former nursery worker was rushed into intensive care when her organs began to fail, resulting in her being put on dialysis.
Her family were initially told she would be put in a coma for a couple of days and she would wake up better.
But as soon a she was put under, the family were taken into a room and told to prepare for the worst.
“As soon as she was put to sleep they told us she could die. We’ve found out now that nurses were told at the time she was going to, and it was just a matter of time, but she’s been a fighter”, Ms Donnachie said.
Ms Henderson was kept in the coma for seven days.
Ms Donnachie said: “On the 19th we were made to sit down and told it’s definite she would be having to get all her limbs amputated. The amputation of her arms is scheduled for Tuesday and her legs will be a couple of weeks later.
“They’re all black and bandaged up.”
She set up a crowdfunding page to raise £80,000 to help give her mother the most comfortable life possible.
At the moment, the NHS can provide basic prosthetics but told the family it is highly unlikely they could get further funding for better limbs.
“She used to drive and would always be on the go. She was so devastated about it all but now she is saying she knows she’s lucky to be alive. She wants to make the most of her life and enjoy being a grandmother,” said Ms Donnachie.
Sepsis is the primary cause of death from infection around the world and claims about 40,000 lives in the UK each year.
The condition is triggered by an infection.Common signs and symptoms include fever, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, and confusion.
To donate see https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kim-donnachie
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