Hello everyone!

I’m due to run 10k on Sunday May 6th 2018. I’m running for The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, anyone local to me will know this as the charity that aids the funding of Russell’s Hall Hospital. I can comfortably run 5k so I’m looking forward to upping my distance whilst raising hopefully raising some money for a great charity!

As my family and some friends may know, my Mum was ill last summer... What started off as a simple chest infection spiralled into pneumonia and sepsis very quickly. My Mum spent two weeks in Russell’s Hall hospital and a bout of time in ICU. If it wasn’t for the quick response of the doctors and consultants there, the outcome could have been very different. 

Sepsis in simple terms, is the result of an initial infection somewhere in the body which directly or indirectly manages to get into the bloodstream. The infection can spread quickly and cause the dysfunction of organs in the body. In cases where multiple organs in the body are effected, this can lead to the amputation of limbs. Where diagnosis, and treatment is delayed, the infection can spread throughout many organs in the body and the outcome as you can imagine can be much more serious. It’s worth noting that this is just a short summary from what I know, please do read up on this more so. 

Paediatric patients and the elderly are most at risk. Sepsis often presents itself with similar to symptoms to that of cold or flu or a simple infection however signs it could be something more, (such as Sepsis) would be confusion or delirium which maintains. If caught early, Sepsis can be treated quickly and effectively so it’s important to catch it early.

I’ve included a few links below which I’ve found really useful.

Concise and informative:

www.sepsistrust.org/news/what-is-sepsis/ 

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Blood-poisoning/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Detailed stories of those that have suffered: 

https://sepsistrust.org/support/

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4377736/amp/Heartbreaking-stories-prove-sepsis-kills-adults-too.html

www.huffpost.com/uk/entry/uk_59b8049ae4b031cc65cd222b/amp

As you can imagine this is not something we expected to happen when my Mum was first told she had a chest infection. Hopefully by sharing my story I can help to make more people aware of the symptoms of Sepsis in order to help distinguish it from a regular infection. My Mum was so lucky considering and she has now made a full recovery and is back at work. I have a bright red running vest from the Sepsis Trust which I’ll wear on the day and I also have leaflets and posters from the Sepsis Trust UK, please give me a shout if you’d like one.

As well as raising awareness for Sepsis I’d like to hopefully raise some attention to the wonderful work of the NHS. The amount of support both my Mum and my family received during her time at Russell’s Hall was phenomenal. Anyone who has had a similar experience or even a simple procedure performed there will know how wonderful the staff are, which is surprising when you see just how stretched resources are. I have recently arranged with the fundraising manager at Dudley Group to ensure that all funds raised go directly to C5, the respiratory ward that catered for my Mum during her time there as being able to do so means a lot to my family. 

Please if you can, take this opportunity to recognise the amazing service provided day and night by donating to the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust. If you’d like to read more about the work of the Trust, see the link below

www.facebook.com/DudleyGroupNHS

It’d be great to know that someone, somewhere down the line benefited from reading up on the symptoms of Sepsis so it could be diagnosed earlier. Thank you if you got this far and a huge thank you if you were able to donate

Chloe

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