MUM, who believed her son had a tummy problem after a sleepover, was shocked to learn that he had a deadly condition. He had to fight for his life.
In January, Beau Parkins, 10, returned home early from his friend’s house complaining of stomach pain – which his Mum, Catherine, passed off as a sickness bug.
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Beau, who lives near Fulham in London, was admitted to hospital with sepsis two days later. He was unable speak or move.
“He’d wake up in the night screaming,” Catherine, 40, explained. “Apparently, it genuinely feels like every part of you is dying.”
Beau’s sepsis was caused by his appendix rupture a few weeks prior, according to his mom, a dog daycare business owner.
According to doctors at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospitals, his appendix was leaking toxic substances into his body. This caused his inflammation rates to rise to around twenty-fifteen times normal.
“At the hospital they firstly couldn’t believe that he was still conscious because of the inflammation levels,”Catherine explained.
“The surgeon came and spoke to me, saying that this was sepsis.
“Whatever you do, don’t start Googling the rates of recovery from sepsis, concentrate on Beau having an appendectomy and we’re going to do everything that we can,”She elaborated.
Beau underwent an appendectomy to remove the appendix. Other organs were also examined to ensure that as much as possible of the infection was removed.
Catherine was told that Beau had arrived at the hospital in good time. If Catherine had waited a day, Beau might have died.
It was terrible. It felt as if the world had stopped turning.
“That was the worst because I thought ‘how can this be happening?’ I kept saying to her ‘he was ok yesterday morning,”She said.
“After the surgery he just slept and would be in agony when he woke up,”She continued.
A drain was placed through his nose to remove the infection.
“All the infection was building up and that helped to get rid of it,”Catherine explained.
“There was a bag of what I can only describe as this toxic-looking green stuff coming out of his stomach, they emptied it every hour at one point,”She continued.
Beau was finally discharged from the hospital on February 11.
The lad has made a slow but steady recovery. However, Catherine stated that he needs to be more restful than usual to avoid becoming unwell.
Beau is now a dog lover who wants to share Beau’s story in order to spread awareness about sepsis.
Catherine stated: “First, trust your instincts.
“Beau did not have the typical symptoms of sepsis, but I had this terrible feeling as a parent that something was wrong with my child.
“They said to me that if I had let him go to sleep that night, he wouldn’t be here with us,”She continued.
What are the warning signs of sepsis that you shouldn’t ignore?
If you or a loved one (or in the case medical professionals, their patient) feels this way, “severely sick”If the patient doesn’t seem to be himself or shows any of these symptoms, it is possible that sepsis has occurred.
– Weakness
– Loss in appetite
– Fever and chills
– Thirst
– Rapid or difficult breathing
– Rapid heart beat
– Low blood Pressure
Low urine output
These symptoms can be indicative of an infection. A person may have had a stomach infection, an abdominal infection, a urinary infection or a wound. Sepsis could be the cause.
“Because Beau was ready for bed and I was like ‘no, we’re going to go up to hospital’, I promised him that we’d only be five minutes,”She elaborated.
“Sepsis still feels so unknown.
“The number of people that I spoke to that had to Google it, it’s not one of the most commonly known things,”She said.
“Just go with your gut instinct as a parent – you do know when things aren’t quite right for sure,”She continued.
What is sepsis?
The infection is what causes the condition. However, it cannot be transmitted from person to person.
Most often the culprit is an infection we all recognise – pneumonia, urinary infections (UTIs), skin infections, including cellulitis, and infections in the stomach, for example appendicitis.
When a minor injury occurs, it is common for the wound to become reddened and warm.
This is an indication that the body’s immune systems has gotten into action and released white blood cells at the site of the injury in order to kill the bacteria.
The tissues around the cut are clotified by blood clots formed by white blood cells or platelets.
The blood vessels expand to allow more blood flow. They also become leaky which allows infection-fighting cells to escape the bloodstream and get into the tissues.
This causes inflammation which manifests as red, warm swelling.
When sepsis happens, this system goes into overdrive.
The inflammation, which is often seen in the area of a minor cut, spreads throughout the body, affecting healthy tissue, and organs.
The body’s defense mechanism, the immune system, overreacts to attack the body.
It can cause organ failure or septic shock that can be fatal.
Sepsis can be triggered by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi.
The condition is still a leading cause for death in developing countries.
It is known by its colloquial title “blood poisoning”Sepsis is often also referred to by the term “a” “flesh-eating disease”.
What are the three stages in sepsis
Sepsis has three stages that affect the body.
Stage 1
A specific infection infects a part of the body, such as pneumonia. This triggers the immune system to activate.
The virus or bacteria that causes the infection spreads germs and toxins to the bloodstream.
This creates an inflammatory response called SIRS (systemic inflammation response syndrome).
Stage 2
Individual organs in the body are affected and start to deteriorate.
In extreme cases, it can lead to organ failure.
Stage Three
The patient may experience multiple organ dysfunctions, leading to cardio-circulatory failure. This causes a sudden drop of blood pressure.
This is also known as septic shock.