Superfit dad's family told to say goodbyes after ending up in intensive care from clicking shoulder
03.09.2023 - 09:11
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A superfit dad, whose family were told to say their final goodbyes when he nearly died from sepsis, has warned that anyone can be affected by the often silent killer.
Mark Oakes, 51, was a bodybuilder, he didn't drink or smoke, was a keen mountain biker, and had a black belt in karate to match when the illness took that all away, EssexLive reports.
The dad was so close to death that doctors told his wife Heather to bring their seven-year-old boy to hospital to say his goodbyes.
Mark, from Essex, said: "I consider myself to be somewhat informed about this sort of thing but I knew nothing about sepsis. I had this perception that sepsis was something found in people who have had things like tattoos in less than hygienic places, or someone who had had a hideous bite in a tropical country.
"I also thought it would be easily treated. What I didn't know was that it killed about 50,000 out of 250,000 people affected in the UK each year. I didn't know that people die of sepsis every hour. I didn't know that it is the biggest killer globally."
The nightmare began last summer when Mark could hear his shoulder making a clicking sound after he attempted to clean the windows at his home. The dad just knocked it off at first thinking it would get better but later that evening he was unable to move his arm at all and when he made his way to bed he was "feverish and shivering".
Mark attended A&E and doctors initially thought he may need surgery. While awaiting the surgery Mark spent a week on pain medication, but he struggled to sleep and breathe properly.
Eventually, he tested the oxygen levels in his blood using his wife's Apple watch. It was at 68 per cent much lower than the healthy average of 95-100pc.
He returned to hospital and was put