Little Silver Tube

In November 2018, I had my latest medical emergency. I was taken into intensive care for 6 days, with Sepsis.  Monday 19th   It started on a Monday morning, I had been unwell for a while with the standard chest infections, but I was advised to have 2 immunisation jabs, Pneumonia and Meningitis.  I remember it all so clearly, waking up that morning feeling a little better than I had for months previously, had my jab at 8:55 then went and spent the day with my mum. By 14:00 that day, my armpit starting to ache and I didn't feel very well at all.  I picked Penelope up from Pre-School, took her home and we had a chilled afternoon. I took myself to bed at 20:00 from feeling so unwell.  Tuesday 20th I woke during the early hours of the morning, vomiting, dizziness and severe pain in my left arm. The pain was so bad I couldn't even have a blanket on my arm, I couldn't lift it or move it.  First thing in the morning I called the Dr's surgery whe...

What is Sepsis? Sepsis is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection that can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. In other words, it’s your body’s overactive and toxic response to an infection. Your immune system usually works to fight any germs (bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites) to prevent infection. If an infection does occur, your immune system will try to fight it, although you may need help with medication such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics. However, for reasons researchers don’t understand, sometimes the immune system stops fighting the “invaders,” and begins to turn on itself. This is the start of sepsis. Patients are diagnosed with sepsis when they develop a set of signs and symptoms related to sepsis. Sepsis is not diagnosed based on an infection itself. If you have more than one of the symptoms of sepsis, especially if there are signs of an infection or you fall into one of the higher risk groups, ...

Coming to realise you're not 'normal' is tough. Not always being able to join in with your friends and be able to do everything you want to be able to do and should be able to do. Growing up my mum and family kept me in a little bubble, so to speak. They made me feel like my life was 'normal'. No matter how hard they tried, it was still tough going through secondary school with lots of friends (wonderfully understanding of my condition) and not being able to socialise after school and join in with the jokes after a weekend. I did feel left out, but I just had to deal with it. It wasn't safe for me to go out and about as none of my friends would have been able to help me during an emergency. As I got older and could do my tracheostomy care easily without anyone else around, and understanding when I need help, I was able to go out and socialise without a carer and my mum. A sense of independence. Something amazing, yet very strange. It was great.  When I met ...