Ms Sadie Kemp, 34, of Sawtry, Huntingdon, was admitted to hospital suffering with pains in her back on the evening of Christmas Day last year. She found out that she had a kidney stone but by Boxing Day entered septic shock when doctors took her into theatre to remove the stone.
Sadie was put into an induced coma for 11 days before fighting for her life on life support intensive care. Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection and happens when an existing infection triggers a chain reaction throughout the body.
Sadie sustained life changing injuries to her hands and feet. She is currently in Peterborough City Hospital and has had the fingers on one of her hands amputated and has been told that she will need to have her other hand and both legs amputated below her knees.
Stephanie King, 34, of Sawtry, Huntingdon, has been a close friend of Sadie’s since they were both 15 years old.
“It’s been a life changing experience for her,” she said. “She’s a 34-year-old woman so she’s still young and she’s got a young son, who is only two, and an older son, who is 16.”
Ms King set up the Go Fund Me donations page ‘support for Sadie after surviving sepsis’, which has raised almost £25,000. She admitted that the response has been overwhelming for everyone.
“It's been crazy,” she said. “It was difficult to keep up and say thank you to everyone who donated and reply to all the lovely emails of support for Sadie which came through.
“Sadie cried on the phone to me last week because she was just so overwhelmed by it. She couldn’t believe the response.”
“The money raised will help with Sadie’s adaptation to life when she comes home, the care of her children while she’s in hospital and any bills which are accumulating at home, because obviously can’t work.
“We were going to do a separate fundraiser for prosthetics, but she is going to have the NHS legs. She is going to have prosthetic skin called limb-art which the money will also go towards so she can feel like the confident, glamorous girl that she is.
“It will help with her self-esteem and keep her morale up - to keep her as Sadie and not let her slip into depression and feeling like she’s different to how she was before.”
Ms King, Sadie’s boyfriend Mr Lewis Webb and the rest of her family have reached out to Sepsis organisations The Global Sepsis Alliance and UK Sepsis Trust who have supported them throughout Sadie’s experience.
“To be told that you are going to lose both your legs below the knees is life changing but she’s determined and fighting through it,” Ms King said. “When she comes out she wants to be a motivational speaker for other people that are going through it.
“She wants to raise awareness and use her experience in a positive way to influence other people. She has been so positive despite her life changing injuries and wants people to see her experience as something motivational. If you spoke to her you would be like, ‘wow’.”
If you would like to support Sadie on her journey, you can donate to her Go Fund Me page by clicking here.
Sadie sustained life changing injuries to her hands and feet. She is currently in Peterborough City Hospital and has had the fingers on one of her hands amputated and has been told that she will need to have her other hand and both legs amputated below her knees.
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Sadie's boyfriend, Lewis Webb (pictured), has been a key part of her support system and has been by her side throughout her experience. Photo: Reader supplied