16-year-old from Lewes fronts Christmas campaign to raise awareness of sepsis

A young sepsis survivor from Lewes is becoming one of the faces of a charity's Christmas campaign to help people learn the symptoms of sepsis and save more lives.

Sepsis Research FEAT’s Christmas campaign features supporters like Walter Hall who are sharing their sepsis stories so that more people become aware of the symptoms and why it is vital to seek urgent medical attention if you spot them in yourself or a loved one.

Walter was 16-year-old when he started to feel unwell. What he initially thought could be the winter flu was in fact sepsis and, by the time he got to the hospital, he was about six hours away from losing his life.

Walter, now aged 20, said: "At sixteen-years-old, feeling fluey and lying in bed on the 23rd of December 2017, I thought my Christmas would be ruined by the fact that I wasn’t well enough to go to the Christmas party. Little did I know that over the course of the next 24 hours, I would find myself dangerously close to not living long enough to see the New Year.”

Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to an infection spirals rapidly out of control, injuring its own tissues and organs which can result in multiple organ failure and death.

Approximately 50,000 people die from sepsis every year in the UK.

The 5 key symptoms of sepsis are – very high or low temperature, uncontrolled shivering, confusion, passing little urine, blotchy or cold arms and legs.

Colin Graham, Chief Operating Officer at Sepsis Research FEAT, said: “It is vital that everyone knows the symptoms of sepsis so they can seek the correct medical treatment in time. Sepsis is an indiscriminate, deadly condition that can kill a healthy adult in a matter of hours.

"Because the symptoms are sometimes similar, cases of sepsis can be mistaken for the flu, particularly around Christmas and the winter months when flu is more common. The difference is that these symptoms worsen rapidly when sepsis is the cause. The most important thing is to react fast and seek urgent medical attention as this can improve chances of survival.

“We are incredibly grateful to supporters like Walter for sharing their stories this Christmas to help others learn more about sepsis. Our Christmas campaign celebrates Walter and other sepsis survivors who were fortunate to have been diagnosed early enough and whose treatment was successful. At the same time, we remember the many people whose lives have been lost to sepsis and so our charity and supporters fight on in their name to continue to raise awareness and fund vital research."

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