'I thought I just had a cold but ended up losing two legs and an arm'
Jayne Carpenter, 52, went from being a healthy person to critically ill 'in a flash'
Mark SmithHealth Correspondent
Jayne Carpenter, 52, from Merthyr Tydfil, needed her legs and an arm amputated to save her life after contracting sepsis (Image: Jayne Carpenter)
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When Jayne Carpenter started developing a cough she initially thought a simple cold was on its way.
But within days her condition deteriorated to such an extent that she needed to be rushed into intensive care.
Doctors discovered that the Merthyr Tydfil resident had contracted sepsis and would need both her legs and an arm amputated in a desperate attempt to save her life.
"I had gone from being a healthy, fit person who loved walking to being critically ill in a flash," said the 52-year-old qualified nurse.
"The life-changing effects on my quality of life have been immeasurable."
Jayne before she was struck down with sepsis (Image: Jayne Carpenter)
At 9am on Sunday, May 1, 2016, Jayne decided to visit her GP out of hours adjacent to Prince Charles Hospital after feeling unwell for a couple of days.
"I thought I was coming down with a cold or maybe chest infection," she added.
"I started coughing up quite dark phlegm and felt short of breath. I figured I'd need to get antibiotics but I didn't think it was worth going to A&E.
"I still carried on doing things in the house over that weekend. I even went for a walk and managed to cook supper."
Jayne with her husband Rob (Image: Jayne Carpenter)
But Janye, who worked as a nurse practitioner at the Royal Gwent Hospital, said the rollercoaster of events that followed were "devastating beyond all belief".
Following blood tests, she was diagnosed with community acquired pneumonia and probable neutropenic sepsis and given antibiotics.
But within hours things went from bad to worse when she was found to have severe sepsis and transferred to intensive care.
She added: "The last thing I can remember is my husband Rob leaving the hospital. I didn't know I had sepsis at this stage and I thought I'd been admitted as a routine thing."
An eight-month-old boy spent eight days in intensive care with sepsis
By midnight Jayne went into respiratory failure - in which not enough oxygen passes from the lungs into the blood - and suffered multiple organ failure shortly afterwards.
"I remained critically and gravelly ill, and after three days I was placed in a medically-induced coma," she added.
"My family were told to prepare for the worst. I actually had a DNACPR (do not attempt cardio pulmonary resuscitation) document in my notes. As all my organs had failed and doctors thought that I would also be left significantly brain damaged.
"Rob had to make the heartbreaking decision that if I went into cardiac arrest - which at the time was highly likely - it would be kinder not to attempt chest compressions as this would further compromise the already reduced oxygen supply to my brain."
This is how her right foot looked before it was amputated (Image: Jayne Carpenter)
As gangrene had set into many of her limbs, the decision was made to amputate both of Janye's legs from the knee down, her left arm from the elbow down and four fingers from her right hand.
"For three months my family did not know from one day to the next if I would live or die," she added.
"But after the amputations, although I still remained critically ill I did start to improve from that point.
"For me, there was never that stark realisation of what had happened to me. It was a gradual process over several weeks."
However, Jayne admitted that when she was transferred from intensive care to a surgical ward, she broke down after realising how little she could do for herself.
"I went from being a fiercely independent woman, with 30 years working in nursing, to becoming totally dependant on other people with every aspect of daily living," she added.
"I just could not accept what had happened to me."
Tragic mum treated for chest infection but she was suffering from combination of sepsis and pneumonia
Jayne also feared that her numerous amputations and reliance on round-the-clock care would lead to the breakdown of her marriage.
"I said to Rob that if he wanted to walk away I would completely understand, but he said he didn't marry me for my arms and legs," she added.
"He has been absolutely fantastic and I couldn't have asked for anyone more supportive."
Jayne made great progress during physiotherapy (Image: Jayne Carpenter)
Having survived against the odds, Jayne spent a further four months undergoing intensive rehabilitation at Rookwood Hospital in Llandaff, Cardiff.
"I was on ward with people who had suffered catastrophic brain injuries. It put my own circumstances into perspecive. I could still have a life," she added.
"I really pushed myself. I couldn't get enough physiotherapy as I was so desperate to lead a normal life again. I couldn't praise the staff there highly enough and we built up a great rapport."
(Image: Jayne Carpenter)
Despite making remarkable progress and managing to eventually walk unaided with the help of prosthetics, she believes she may never fully come to terms with what happened.
"The emotions I have felt can be equated to a grieving process. I have grieved not only the loss of my limbs, but also for the life I once had and the ease and ability to do so many things that we all take for granted."
Jayne has now launched a fundraising campaign in a bid to undergo specialist surgery so that titanium rods can be fitted into both her legs and bespoke prosthetics attached.
However, the entire procedure including aftercare is likely to cost around £265,000.
Jayne says she also gets great freedom from using an electric wheelchair (Image: Jayne Carpenter)
"Living life as a quadruple amputee is so incredibly hard, and staying strong is frequently harder than you can imagine," added Jayne, who now speaks publicly about her battle with sepsis.
"The huge decision and prospect of osseointegration surgery has given me so much light and hope back in my life. It will enable me to reclaim the life that sepsis and the resulting multiple limb amputations stole from me, without question."
To donate go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/jclifewithnolimits