Young Scots mum's 'life saved by sister' after falling ill with deadly infection
13.04.2023 - 17:21
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A cancer patient who fell ill with an infection which can cause deadly sepsis had her life saved by her sister's gut instinct.
Mum-of-one Stephanie Thomson, 33, who is receiving chemo for extra skeletal renal rhabdoid cancer, was urinating blood but wanted to go to bed and hope it would go away. Her sister Michelle Fulton, 37, a mum-of-three, insisted she seek medical help on April 3.
After Stephanie, a hairdressing salon owner, called the Beatson Cancer Unit in Glasgow where she is being treated, she was admitted urgently. She was then diagnosed with a blood culture infection, which can cause sepsis.
Stephanie, from Elderslie, Renfrewshire, said: "Michelle just knew that something more serious was going on and wouldn't let up at me to pick up the phone and get myself checked out. I was feeling so tired and just wanted to sleep but she made it clear that she was going to keep nagging me until I did something.
"Because of her I got the help I needed, or goodness knows what the outcome could have been. It transpired that I had a serious infection, one that could quickly turn into sepsis, but because of Michelle, I had already been admitted to hospital, so the doctors could act right away.
"Infection in the blood cultures is a form of sepsis however they got antibiotics into me super fast which stopped it progressing. I was given two blood transfusions and I dread to think what might have happened if I didn't listen to her.
"It really is a warning to everyone that you shouldn't ignore anything around your health."
Stephanie, who is currently undergoing daily radiotherapy and regular chemo sessions, thanked staff who quickly spotted the issues in her blood cultures.
She said: "A day after being admitted I was hallucinating with