Meet Amelie Perry, Britain’s youngest survivor of sepsis who amazed doctors with her miracle recovery
LITTLE Amelie Perry has become Britain’s youngest survivor of sepsis.
The tot was rushed to intensive care just hours after her birth when her body swelled to almost twice its normal size.
But Amelie, who recently celebrated her first birthday, has amazed doctors with her recovery.
Mum Alaska-Lily Morrison, 19, said: “We are incredibly lucky Amelie pulled through. When she was born she wasn’t breathing. Her body was puffed up and she had a mottled rash.
“Doctors say it is incredible Amelie didn’t lose her arms and legs.
“But to look at her now you’d never guess she’d ever been gravely ill. She is full of beans and always smiling.”
Alaska-Lily and her fiancé, sous chef Callum Perry, 23, from Thurlby, Lincs, were overjoyed when Alaska-Lily found out she was pregnant.
She said: “In my early teens I suffered from anorexia. While I recovered, I never started my periods and doctors said I was unlikely to ever conceive. So we were thrilled.”
But the nightmare for the childhood sweethearts began when a routine test 36 weeks into the pregnancy was positive for Group B Streptococcus — an infection, which can be fatal if passed to a baby during delivery.
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Alaska-Lilly, a digital marketer, said: “Because of the Strep B, doctors said I would be given a shot of antibiotics during delivery.”
Alaska-Lily was given the injection which should have prevented her baby becoming ill, but when Amelie was born she was not breathing.
Her mum said: “Instead of a newborn baby’s cry, there was just silence. Callum and I felt so helpless.
Those few minutes while the doctors worked on her were the worst moment of our lives. We thought she’d died.
“After what seemed an eternity, Amelie was breathing and placed in my arms.” But in just two hours Alaska-Lily noticed Amelie had a red mottled rash.
She said: “Doctors realised she was breathing too fast and her tiny body was in fact hugely swollen and a test revealed Amelie had sepsis.
“Doctors said the next few hours would be critical and if they couldn’t get the sepsis under control she could lose her legs or arms.”
Thankfully over the next 24 hours Amelie’s breathing and heart rate stabilised and mum and dad were able to take her home five days later.
Alaska-Lily says: “Amelie is the happiest baby — a real joy.”
Meanwhile, Callum recently did a skydive to raise money for the UK Sepsis Trust charity.
He said: “We are very fortunate that doctors picked up Amelie’s sepsis quickly.
“Every time Amelie flashes one of her smiles we feel so lucky to have her — and so lucky she is now so healthy.”
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WHAT IS SEPSIS?
The condition is always triggered by an infection.
Most often the culprit is an infection we all recognise - pneumonia, urinary infections (UTIs), skin infections including cellulitis and infections in the stomach, appendicitis for example.
Typically, when a person suffers a minor cut, the area surround the wound will become red, swollen and warm to touch.
This is evidence the body's immune system has kicked into action, releasing white blood cells to the site of the injury to kill off the bacteria causing the infection.
The white blood cells and platelets form blood clots in the tissues around the cut.
Blood vessels swell to allow more blood to flow, and they become leaky, allowing infection-fighting cells to get out of the blood and into the tissues where they are needed.
This causes inflammation, which appears to us as the red, warm swelling.
When sepsis happens, this system goes into overdrive.
The inflammation that is typically seen just around the minor cut, spread through the body, affecting healthy tissue and organs.
The immune system - the body's defence mechanism - in essence overreacts, and the result is it attacks the body.
It can lead to organ failure and septic shock, which can prove fatal.
Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites can all trigger sepsis - though the most dangerous culprit is bacteria.
WHO IS MOST AT RISK?
Sepsis is a condition that fails to discriminate - it can affect old and young, those who lead healthy lives and those who don't.
As with many life-threatening illnesses, the most vulnerable are newborns, young children and the elderly, as well as anyone with a weakened immune system.
Though it can affect us all, men are more susceptible than women, black people are more at risk than white, and the very young and very old are more likely to be affected than any other age group.
Those people battling diabetes, AIDS, kidney or liver disease are also at greater risk due to their weakened immune systems.
And pregnant women and people who have suffered severe burns or physical injury are more likely to fall victim to the life-threatening condition.
THE THREE STAGES OF SEPSIS
Sepsis affects the body in three distinct stages.
Stage One
An infection invades a specific part of the body - pneumonia affects the lungs, for example - triggering the immune system into action.
The germs and toxins produced by the bacteria or virus leave the original site of infection and enter the bloodstream.
This causes the inflammatory response known as SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome).
Stage Two
Individual organs throughout the body become affected, and begin to deteriorate.
In severe cases this can lead to organ failure.
Stage Three
More than one organ stops functioning, and the patient experiences cardio-circulatory failure that leads to a sudden drop in blood pressure.
This is known more commonly as septic shock.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF SEPSIS YOU SHOULD NEVER IGNORE?
If you, a loved one, or in the case of medical professionals their patient, feels "severely sick", doesn't appear to be themselves and shows any of the following symptoms, sepsis should be suspected:
- weakness
- loss of appetite
- fever and chills
- thirst
- difficult or rapid breathing
- rapid heart rate
- low blood pressure
- low urine output
If a person is suffering these symptoms and they are thought to have suffered an infection - pneumonia, abdominal infection, urinary infection, or a wound - sepsis is a likely cause.
WHAT TREATMENT IS AVAILABLE?
If you suspect you, or a loved one is suffering sepsis it must be treated as a medical emergency.
Think of the reaction you would have to a heart attack, stroke or major car crash - dial 999.
A person's chances of surviving sepsis are highly dependent on their getting medical intensive care as soon as possible.
The longer it takes to receive medical care the more likely it is a patient will die.
CAN YOU PREVENT SEPSIS?
Given it is a condition triggered by an infection, preventing that initial infection can prevent sepsis.
But how can we prevent the many infections out there from infecting us?
Vaccinations
Vaccinating children against various illnesses can help protect not only them, but also their grandparents.
The youngest and oldest in society are at greatest risk of a strain of bacteria known as pneumococcus bacteria.
This is the vicious strain responsible for triggering pneumonia, middle ear infection, meningitis and can ultimately lead to sepsis.
Vaccinating babies and young children results in "herd immunity", preventing infections from taking hold within communities, and spreading rapidly through the population.
Antibiotic use must be restricted
Antibiotic resistance is a growing health concern the world over.
The excessive use of the drugs for decades has led to a sharp increase in the number of bacteria that have mutated and developed the resist the medication.
The implication is that common and typically minor infections could become killers once more.
In order to prevent this from happening, it is vital that antibiotics are only used when absolutely necessary - and that the right type of antibiotic is prescribed to tackle the right infection.
Furthermore, it is important that the drugs are only prescribed for a limited period of time - taking them for prolonged periods of time can increase the risk of resistance building.
Wash those hands
Poor hygiene increases the risk of picking up infections.
And the risk of poor hygiene is more pronounced in areas where resources are lacking.
In these parts of the world, day-to-day things like giving birth and treating wounds, that are taken for granted in more prosperous nations, can prove fatal.
Promotion of good personal hygiene, hand washing and making sure clean water is more widely available have the potential to save millions of lives, by lowering the risk of sepsis.
Have you or a loved one suffered sepsis? Share your story to help raise awareness. Email [email protected]