Sadie Kemp: Sepsis survivor becomes TikTok sensation as video documenting journey among UK’s most viewed

Sepsis survivor Sadie Kemp, 35, from Sawtry has helped to save lives through sharing videos of her condition.

A sepsis survivor has become a social media sensation after one of her videos documenting her health journey was named as the UK’s second most-viewed video on TikTok this year.

Sadie Kemp, from Sawtry, was given just an eight per cent chance of survival when she was put into an induced coma for 11 days on Boxing Day 2021.

The 35-year-old entered septic shock when doctors removed a kidney stone from her body at Peterborough City Hospital on

The mum-of-two suffered life-changing injuries as a result of her experience – having her hands and both of her legs amputated.

However, while in hospital, she began posting videos documenting her experience on the video sharing platform TikTok, which she now has more than half a million followers on.

A video of her washing her amputated hand in a bowl of water, while recreating a scene from the film Jaws to its famous soundtrack, has gained over 244.2 million views.

It was the second most-watched video from the UK on the platform so-far in 2022.

"I never expected the video to go viral,” Sadie said.

"I wasn’t on TikTok before I was diagnosed with sepsis, but my friend set me up on it for something for me to scroll through while I was in hospital.

"I posted the video and didn’t think anything of it. My friend rang me the next morning to say, ‘you’re never going to believe this’.

"People found it funny and, for me, laughter is the best form of medicine.”

Sadie said that her followers on TikTok have reached out to her to say her videos raising awareness of sepsis have helped them to identify the symptoms of the condition early – saving their lives.

"I’ve had messages from 14 people to say I’ve helped save their lives,” she said.

"It’s rewarding and I will continue to post going forward as a wat to reach people all over the world.”

Sadie had both of her legs amputated below her knees in November this year and she is now getting used to her new prosthetic legs.

You can follow Sadie’s journey by following her on TikTok @sadiessepsisjourney.