‘Zombie’ mum, 28, blamed ‘feeling like she was dying’ on a cold – then I had to learn how to eat and walk again
A MUM says she would be dead if she hadn’t trusted her “gut instinct” and begged to be taken to A&E “looking like a zombie”.
Leah Denney initially believed she had a “bad cold” but it turned out to be life-threatening sepsis.
The 28-year-old had been struck down by flu-like symptoms, including an aching body and fluctuating temperature.
She dosed up on cold medication and got plenty of rest in the hope that she’d soon shift it.
But soon, Leah was unable to keep any food or fluids down so she visited an out-of-hours urgent care centre, where medics said she had an urinary tract infection (UTI) and prescribed her antibiotics.
Days later, she went back to the department, where doctors dished out more pills to tackle the sharp, stabbing pains in her chest and the aches in her side.
Feeling like she was “dying” and “looking like a zombie”, the beauty therapist begged her mum to take her to A&E for help.
There, doctors ran tests and discovered she had a horror combination of flu, Strep A, pneumonia and a stage-three kidney infection, that eventually led to sepsis – a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs.
Leah was placed in an induced coma that evening and had her collapsed right lung drained of 2.8 litres of fluid.
The mum-of-one was brought round 12 days later and was eventually allowed home to relearn how to eat and walk.
Despite making a good physical recovery 18 months on from her hospitalisation in January 2023, Leah now suffers from post-sepsis syndrome (PSS).
This saw her hair fall out, the skin on her hands and feet shed “like a snake”, and her suffering from joint pain and memory loss – something she still struggles with now.
Leah, who is mum to four-year-old Ralphie Denney, is sharing her ordeal to urge others to advocate for themselves if they become unwell.
Leah, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, said: “It was horrible.
“The thought of never waking up, never being there for my child or my family never seeing me again was quite scary.
“Even now I think about it and it tears me up at the thought of Ralphie being left without me and his last memory of me being poorly on the sofa.
“It was the week leading up to Christmas in 2022 when it started; there were lots of colds going around.
“I just generally felt unwell. I was hot and cold, had a runny nose, headaches and body aches. I thought it was a strong cold.
“I didn’t have an appetite. I was resting and trying to drink fluids but I was constantly vomiting and I just wasn’t getting better.
“It was really scary, I’d never felt this ill before.”
I was very washed out and grey. I looked like a zombie and felt like I was dying
Leah Denney
A couple of days after Christmas, doctors suggested she was suffering from a
Leah went to an out-of-hours centre where doctors suggested she was suffering with a UTI and gave her antibiotics.
Unable to keep anything down, Leah returned days later to be given more medication before going to Kettering General Hospital’s A&E department.
Given how poorly she was, “zombie-looking” Leah was put in a coma and eventually diagnosed with sepsis.
“They initially just sent me on my way,” Leah said.
“I went back two days later and by this point I was having pain all down the right side of my body – a sharp stabbing pain in the chest and it felt like I’d been kicked in the side.
“I went back to urgent care and they said it was musculoskeletal pain and prescribed painkillers.
“I just had this gut instinct. I wasn’t happy with what they said, it felt like something worse.
“The next day I begged my mum to take me to A&E. She said by this point I looked like a zombie.
“I was very washed out and grey, I felt like I was dying.”
Leah was put into an induced coma at 2am on New Year’s Day.
“I don’t remember anything other than waking up on January 12,” she added.
A week later, Leah was discharged from hospital and soon recovered, but quickly started suffering from PSS symptoms.
“From a medical point of view, I got better very quickly once I woke up,” she said.
“The PSS symptoms were straight away – the trouble sleeping, the lethargy – and a thick layer of skin on the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet started peeling immediately.
“I was shedding like a snake; it made me feel disgusting.
The dangers of sepsis
By Ella Walker, Health Features Editor at The Sun
Sepsis kills more than five people an hour in the UK — that is 48,000 deaths a year.
Globally, it takes more lives than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined, despite 25 per cent of deaths being preventable.
Colin Graham, of charity Sepsis Research FEAT, said: “Sepsis is the number one cause of preventable death in the world and can have life-changing consequences for those who survive.”
Few of us know what causes sepsis, and diagnosis can be delayed.
Even healthcare professionals sometimes fail to spot the signs, so it’s vital to take symptoms seriously and seek medical help when necessary.
The five key signs to watch for are:
- Confusion
- Not passing as much urine as normal
- Having a very high or very low temperature
- Uncontrolelled shivering
- Cold or blotchy arms and legs
Colin said: “If someone has any of these symptoms and is becoming noticeably worse, this could indicate sepsis and urgent medical attention should be sought.”
The NHS advises calling 999 or going to A&E if a baby or young child has:
- Blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue (on brown or black skin, check the palms and soles of the feet)
- A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it
- Difficulty breathing (for example, grunting noises or their stomach sucking under the rib cage)
- Breathlessness or breathing very fast
- A weak, high-pitched cry that is not normal for them
- Not responding as usual or disinterested in feeding or normal activities
- Being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
If an adult or older child’s skin changes colour, they have a non-fading rash, find it difficult breathing, are acting confused, have slurred speech or are not making sense, call 999 or go to A&E. Trust your gut instinct.
“I get a lot of pain in my joints and muscles. Even now I struggle with my ankles, knees, hips and wrists, and I never had these issues before.
“Four months later, I started to lose my hair. I’ve got alopecia areata. My hair was coming out in clumps.
“It’s a delayed response to your body going through trauma.
“I still struggle with my memory. I have to check my phone multiple times a day to remember what day it is, which is quite frustrating.”
LEAH’S PLEA
Leah is now urging anyone who isn’t satisfied with a doctor’s diagnosis to get a second opinion, acknowledging that hospital staff picked it up straight away.
Leah said: “If you don’t feel that something is right, get a second or third opinion.
“If I’d just stuck with the original diagnosis that I had a UTI, I would be dead.
“It’s all about trusting your intuition. You might feel like it’s a waste of time, but it’s going to save your life.
“I went to the out-of-hours doctors twice, then went to A&E, where it was picked up straight away.
“If I can help save one life from someone knowing about sepsis and the things to look out for then I’m content in knowing that that’s happened.
“It’s very scary, you don’t ever think it will be you.”
What are the symptoms of sepsis?
SEPSIS is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that happens when your immune system overreacts and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
Symptoms of sepsis in an adult include:
- Acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense
- Blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- Difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
Symptoms in a child include:
- Blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- Difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their ribcage), breathlessness or breathing very fast
- A weak, high-pitched cry that’s not like their normal cry
- Not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal activities
- Being sleepier than normal or having difficulty waking
They may not have all these symptoms.
If you think you or someone else has symptoms of sepsis, call 999 or go to A&E.
Source: NHS