A Cork man has been labelled as having one of the worst cases of sepsis in two decades, after visiting Cork University Hospital (CUH) with a sore throat.
Thomas, originally from Gorlice in Poland - has been living in Cork a long time, and had built a happy life for himself, his wife and two sons in Ireland for the last 15 years, Cork Beo reports.
Last week Thomas went to a doctor after feeling like he had a sore throat.
Doctors said it was a suspected viral infection - however that night, Thomas became seriously ill and was brought to CUH for treatment and further tests.
Thomas was then told he had 'the worst case of sepsis they'd seen in 20 years', and doctors said he had only a 50/50 chance of survival. Thomas is still fighting in CUH's Intensive Care Unit just 10 days later.
Joe Hunter, a close mate of Thomas, has started a fundraiser to try and help the Cork man's family during this difficult time.
Joe said: "Thomas and his wife Gosia have two beautiful boys, Tommy (4) and David (9). The boys need minding, the mortgage on the family home must be paid, and Thomas will likely need prolonged medical support.
"This family has always worked very hard and earned everything they have independently. But now they need support, and are too proud to ask for it."
He asked that people give what they can to help his beautiful family get through this "terrible nightmare."
"Any one of us could find ourselves in a similar situation in the morning. They have more than enough worry at this time, and certainly don't need to be worrying about where the money is going to come from on top of it all," he wrote.
You can donate to help support Thomas and his family on their fundraising page here.
