Mum temporarily paralysed after Christmas cold developed into sepsis

Mother, 49, reveals she was left just hours from death after a ‘Christmas cold’ turned into deadly sepsis which was shutting down her organs

• Helen Hewlett, 49, spent months in hospital after her organs failed due to sepsis 
• Christmas cold had triggered violent immune response attacking healthy tissue 
• So weak she struggled to move, could only communicate by scribbling on paper

Helen Hewlett, 49, was temporarily paralysed and could not speak after a Christmas cold developed into deadly sepsis

A mother-of-two claims she was left just hours from death after a Christmas cold developed into deadly sepsis.

Helen Hewlett, 49, had to be hooked up to life support when her vital organs failed and an artificial lung was needed to pump oxygen through her body.

She had began feeling ill while celebrating Christmas with family in 2017 but put off going to the doctors until after New Year.

Mrs Hewlett, from Bristol, knew that something ‘wasn’t right’ when she became so lethargic she would fall asleep at her work desk.

When her condition continued to deteriorate she visited her GP on January 6, but was told it was just a cold.

The following day she couldn’t even muster the strength to get out of bed and her worried husband Gary phoned an ambulance.

Mrs Hewlett, who was going in and out of consciousness, was rushed to A&E after being told her organs were shutting down. 

A cold she had caught over Christmas had triggered sepsis, a violent immune response that was attacking her healthy tissue.

She spent two months fighting for her life in hospital and was so weak she couldn’t move her legs.

Mrs Hewlett was only able to communicate with her husband through scribbled notes after doctors sliced a hole in her throat to deliver oxygen to her lungs.

Mrs Hewlett (with husband Gary, daughter Laura, and son Jack) had to be hooked up to life support and when her vital organs failed and an artificial lung was needed to pump oxygen through her body

A cold she had caught over Christmas had triggered a violent immune response that attacked healthy tissue

She spent two months fighting for her life in hospital and was so weak she couldn’t move her legs or speak (pictured with scribbled notes from her hospital stint)

Recalling her ordeal, she said: ‘It has changed my life. It’s made me appreciate the small things and stopped me from taking being alive for granted.

‘I came so very close to the end. In the space of just a few days I went from feeling a bit unwell to ending up in hospital. 

‘It’s scary how quickly something you think is minor can escalate to something big.

‘I want people to know how quickly sepsis can develop. If you’re feeling unwell and think something isn’t right don’t hesitate in going to a doctor.’

She added: ‘After two years I’m now finally beginning to feel like my old self again. It’s made me more aware that life is short and you should spend time doing things you like with the people you love and care about.

‘I can get a bit short of breath but generally life is pretty good, I’m trying to put it behind me and get really strong and fit.

‘It’s made me a more positive person, it makes me put things into context better, you realise what’s really important.’

Mrs Hewlett, an operations manager for a drinks company, first began to feel unwell while celebrating Christmas at her parents’ home in Wales.

Initially thinking she just had a cough, she thought nothing of it until December 28th when she began to feel worse.

Recalling her ordeal, she said it had ‘changed her life’, ‘made her appreciate the small things’ and stopped her ‘from taking being alive for granted’

Her GP dismissed her symptoms as the flu, but her worried husband (pictured together) phoned an ambulance when she struggled to get out of bed

She said: ‘My sister said I didn’t look as well as I usually do. I didn’t think anything of it.

‘Then between Christmas and New Year when I was at home I developed a cough. On New Year’s Eve I felt quite poorly but just thought it was flu.

‘No partying for me, I just went straight to bed. I went back to work soon after and still felt really bad. 

‘I remember sitting in on a job interview and when the candidate left I fell asleep on a desk. My colleague told me to go home.

‘What should have been a straightforward journey of two hours turned into four hours because I was stopping at every service station trying to sleep. I didn’t know what was happening to me.’

Mrs Hewlett spent close to two months in hospital. For long periods, she was only able to communicate with a paper and pen.

She said: ‘I remember how thirsty I was and indignity of it all. Not being able to move was pretty bad.

‘I couldn’t communicate with anyone at all or really tell them how I was feeling. I tried to write little notes but I couldn’t write the words down because my muscles were so weak.

‘It was horrendous for Gary and the kids. He didn’t tell the kids how serious it was. The doctors told Gary that it was a very real possibility that I wasn’t going to make it twice.

‘Coming home was quite tough. I was desperate to come home because I hated being in hospital.’

She was eventually discharged from hospital at the end of February 2018. Because of her time in hospital, the mother had suffered significant muscle wastage and had to relearn how to walk.

WHAT IS SEPSIS?

Sepsis occurs when the body reacts to an infection by attacking its own organs and tissues.

Some 44,000 people die from sepsis every year in the UK. Worldwide, someone dies from the condition every 3.5 seconds. 

Sepsis has similar symptoms to flu, gastroenteritis and a chest infection.

These include:

• Slurred speech or confusion
• Extreme shivering or muscle pain
• Passing no urine in a day
• Severe breathlessness
• It feels like you are dying
• Skin mottled or discoloured

Symptoms in children are:

• Fast breathing
• Fits or convulsions
• Mottled, bluish or pale skin
• Rashes that do not fade when pressed
• Lethargy
• Feeling abnormally cold

Under fives may be vomiting repeatedly, not feeding or not urinating for 12 hours. 

Anyone can develop sepsis but it is most common in people who have recently had surgery, have a urinary catheter or have stayed in hospital for a long time.

Other at-risk people include those with weak immune systems, chemotherapy patients, pregnant women, the elderly and the very young.

Treatment varies depending on the site of the infection but involves antibiotics, IV fluids and oxygen, if necessary.

Source: UK Sepsis Trust and NHS Choices

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