A primary school teacher who lost all her limbs to sepsis has won a ‘woman of the year’ award for returning to teaching after being fitted with bionic limbs. Kath Tregenna, came down with a fever in the run up to Christmas three years ago, which became so severe she had to be admitted into hospital.
She suffered between seven and 11 cardiac arrests and her family was told to say their goodbyes. To stop the sepsis from spreading and to save her life, the doctors had no choice but to perform a quadruple amputation on both her legs below the knee and her two arms below the elbow.
Kath then spent a month in intensive care, and spent the New Year rediscovering the world around her but without any limbs. She was prescribed prosthetic arm hooks that were uncomfortable and heavy to wear, which would make her heart sink every time she had to put them on.
Luckily, while she was re-learning how to take her first steps, the school where she worked rallied and fundraised enough money to cover the costs of a Hero Arm from the UK tech company Open Bionics. Kath was fitted with her bionic limbs and has now regained her independence to be able to return to teaching.
Now she has been awarded the national Woman of Courage award, organised by Lorraine Kelly, for her resilience, strength and courage. Kath, from Datchet, Berkshire, said: “Every day I feel lucky and extremely grateful to be alive, and a moment like this really does help show it’s possible to overcome challenges and turn adversity into something positive.
“I owe my life to the 111 operator who noticed some of the symptoms of sepsis and called an ambulance. As I was going through my recovery, I really knew in my heart that I wanted to get back into the classroom and get back to teaching.
“It’s all thanks to arms I am able to teach again. I feel proud and honoured to have won the Woman of Courage award.
“I hope people can see how having a positive mindset is absolutely essential.” While teaching at International School of London, she caught what she thought was common sickness but the reality was much more dangerous.
She said: "I was in school, feeling a little bit unwell and I decided to leave early that day. Over the weekend, I was still unwell and rested, by the Sunday afternoon I decided to call 111.
"The call handler obviously sensed something and then decided to send an ambulance to my house." The ambulance arrived, took her vital signs and admitted her to hospital.
From here, Kath doesn't remember what happened but she was told that her body had gone into septic shock and that as a consequence, she would need to have all four limbs amputated to survive. Kath was fitted with prosthetic arm hooks after having her limbs amputated, but found them uncomfortable to wear.
The mum-of-two said: “I always had this dream of being able to go back to teaching and I just knew I couldn’t do that with these heavy hooks.”
