A Lanarkshire dad died from a rare flesh-eating disease after cutting his leg on a box while he moved house.
David Hemmings passed away in hospital just days after moving to a house with a garden having spent years struggling with the stairs at his top floor flat.
The 54-year-old, from Motherwell, was looking forward to the move with wife of 21 years Margaret, 52, but was rushed to hospital just three days after settling in.
David, who struggled with leg issues, was in extreme pain when he was admitted to University Hospital Wishaw on Friday, September 16, as doctors discovered a cut on his leg had become infected.
Margaret and sons James, 20, and Lee, 16, were informed the next day that David’s condition had deteriorated and he would not survive.
Speaking to the Daily Record, Margaret said: “David had been having problems with his legs for years and had fluid in them. We had recently moved house on the Tuesday to a front and back door property because he struggled with the stairs.
“He knocked his legs a few times and cut one while carrying the boxes from the house to the car.
“On the Friday after we handed our old keys back, David was complaining his leg was really sore - sorer than they had ever been.
"He took some painkillers and went to sleep but when he woke back up around 6pm he was still in pain and couldn’t put weight on his leg.
“I called a friend to take him to hospital, my son came back around 11pm and said the hospital would phone us the next morning. They phoned after 8am and said he had an infection in his leg but was on a strong antibiotic drip, a fluid drip and something to improve his blood pressure as it was really low.
“Around 11.30am the doctor phoned and asked us to come up as they wanted to speak to us. They said David’s condition had deteriorated and he would not survive. They could have done surgery to remove both his legs but he wouldn’t have survived the operation.”
David died in hospital at 8.05pm on Saturday, September 17, surrounded by his family. His cause of death was listed as Necrotising fasciitis, also known as the “flesh-eating disease”.
The rare bacterial infection can get into the body from a cut or wound. David also had an underlying cardiovascular disease.
Neighbours have now set up a fundraising page to help pay for David’s funeral and ease the financial burden of his unexpected loss on the family.
Paying tribute to her beloved husband, Margaret continued: “David was a very well known person here and if anyone needed help he would be the first to offer.
"He was always seen out and about walking our dog and was on the Forgewood House Tenants committee.
“He was looking forward to having a garden and being able to potter about at his own pace. We loved growing our own produce and we had an allotment but hadn’t been able to get down in a while.
“It is all still such a shock. He only got three days in our new house. We will all really miss him and everyone who knew him will miss him. It is a shock for everybody.”
Donations to the fundraising page can be made by clicking here.
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