A BBC journalist learned she had sepsis just weeks after she interviewed a woman who almost passed away due to the deadly infection. Sarah McMullan was in hospital for a week after being admitted following a trip to A&E with what she believed were kidney issues, reports Glasgow Live.
Sarah says she remembers feeling "really cold" one morning at work and when her symptoms didn't improve she decided to phone NHS 24. Medics told Sarah she was lucky she phoned after it led to an early sepsis diagnosis before it got worse.
The broadcaster's illness in early October came just a month after she carried out an interview for Sepsis Awareness Month for BBC Scotland's The Nine.
She spoke to Kimberley Bradley, who explained how she was put into an induced coma for eight days after being diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia, which then developed into sepsis.
Sarah said: "She spoke through all of the symptoms and what to look out for and what to remember and when to get help and I did not remember them well enough.
"Category one is life threatening so I was very unwell. My temperature was spiking really quite quickly. It would go from about 37 to 40 within about 15 minutes.
"It was 40, on and off, for about two days."
Sarah was in A&E for five hours before doctors decided to move her to a ward. The medics told her she was extremely fortunate to have attended on a quiet shift.
The broadcaster added: "Had I had a longer time to wait I cannot imagine how much more unwell I would have felt.
"It could have been a lot worse. That's what I was told on several occasions.
"The doctors kept saying to me 'You have been very lucky here'."
Sarah wants others to follow her lead and get checked out if they notice any symptoms:
She said: "If you suffer any of these symptoms, like the spike in temperature or the uncontrolled shivering, just make the phone call and get help.
"It really is the difference between it being life or death in some instances."
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