When Edward was one and a half, he suddenly became very unwell and was admitted to North Middlesex Hospital, where he was diagnosed with sepsis.

He spent a week in hospital being treated for sepsis whilst the doctors tried to work out what was causing it. During that time he remained incredibly unwell and the treatment wasn’t making him any better. Eventually he had a scan of his abdomen and they discovered that he had a completely blocked ureter on his left side, meaning that urine couldn’t reach his bladder and was instead collecting in his left kidney, causing a severe infection which had developed into sepsis.

Ed was rushed to Great Ormond Street and operated on that evening. His surgeon later told us that if he hadn’t been operated on that day, he probably wouldn’t have survived. We are eternally indebted to both Dr Caroline at North Middlesex who diagnosed the blockage and to the brilliant surgeon John Adu at GOSH for saving Ed’s life.

In the UK, around 245,000 people are affected by sepsis each year and there are approximately 48,000 sepsis-related deaths—more than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined.

Sepsis is treatable if it’s caught early, so it’s really important to be aware of the symptoms. In children, symptoms of sepsis can include:

• Breathing very fast

• Having a ‘fit’ or convulsion

• Looking mottled, bluish or pale — on darker pigmented skin, colour changes may show on the inside of the forearms or palms

• Having a rash that does not fade when you press it

• Being very lethargic or difficult to wake

• Feeling abnormally cold to the touch

In children under five, repeated vomiting can also be a symptom.

Awareness is key and the UK Sepsis Trust advises anyone who is concerned about potential sepsis symptoms to always ask the question: ‘Could it be sepsis?’

I was vaguely aware of the symptoms of sepsis, but I had no idea that Ed might have it. I instinctively knew that something was very wrong with him, but I hadn’t connected his symptoms to sepsis.

Ed remained under the care of the Great Ormond Street urology team until last year, but is now discharged from their care and is a healthy, happy, rugby-loving, gaming-obsessed boy who loves nothing more than wrestling with his sisters and pestering me to borrow my phone to play games on.

Ed has been inspired to try to help others that have been affected by sepsis and wanted to do something proactive to raise money and make more people aware of the symptoms of sepsis.

This Easter we will be walking up Snowdon with Ed and his sister Clemmie to raise money for the UK Sepsis Trust, who do work to raise awareness of sepsis and support those affected by it.

If you would like to show your support, please consider donating and we hope that by sharing Ed’s story we can help raise awareness of the symptoms of sepsis in children and give parents the confidence to ask ‘Could it be sepsis?’