A man ran a marathon less than 24 hours after having surgery for sepsis.
Michael Jones, 27, from Hoylake, went to the Liverpool city centre walk-in centre on Friday, April 14, with what he thought were flu-like symptoms. On Saturday, April 15, he had surgery at the Royal Liverpool Hospital for an abscess in his groin area.
Despite the doctors advising him to rest and telling him that most people aren't able to stand the day after such surgery, Michael ran the Manchester Marathon on Sunday, April 16. The race started at 9am and he finished in a time of 3:59, putting him in the top 31% of runners.
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Michael, who lives in the city centre, said he took part in the race because he doesn't believe in quitting. He had been looking forward to the run for months and was not going to drop out.
He told the ECHO: "I had flu-like symptoms so I went into the walk-in centre. I had really achy muscles, and I got really bad headaches and sweats.
"I was really ill. Before, in work, the lads were ill and said 'don't sit next to me'.
"But I never get ill, so I didn't worry about it. And then, obviously a couple of days later, I was in hospital.
"I thought I'd pulled a muscle in my groin from the gym. But it wasn't.
"In the walk-in centre, they said that I had early sepsis, so they needed to rush me to the Royal to get emergency surgery. I got the surgery within 20 hours of going to the doctors."
The abscess, located near the Perineum, had become infected. Michael had to go under general anaesthetic while the surgery, which involved cutting a 3.5cm by 3.5cm by 3.5cm hole in his groin, was completed.
This didn't scupper Michael's marathon ambitions, however.
He said: "It (the infection) wasn't in a good place. I think the only worse place it could possibly be is on the bottom of your foot when running a marathon.
"They told me to rest, but I told them that I had a marathon coming up. They said 'no, you won't be able to do that.' I said that I really wanted to do it, but my family said I needed to rest.
"Doctors said it was a horrendous idea. But I asked if it would do any medical damage to it and they said no.
"I was told I just wouldn't be able to run it as I would be too sore and I'd be too weak. The doctor said that most people can't get off the couch the next day, they said it would be impossible to run the marathon."
Not to be deterred, Michael travelled to Manchester on the Sunday and did indeed run the marathon.
He said: "It was horrendous while I ran. At the start of the day, I thought it was alright when I was on painkillers.
"But the next day, I couldn't even walk. It was killing me.
He added: "I did alright. I was in the top 31%, so not too bad.
"I was aiming for a time of 3:30, but considering the circumstances, it's not bad.
"It felt amazing when I finished. It was unbelievable.
"My family were there to cheer me on - they said I was an inspiration and a few of them have started running. A few of my friends are going to enter some races with me, starting with 10km."
He believes his story shows people can do anything if they put their mind to it. He is, however, returning to the walk-in centre every day to have the dressing changed.
Michael said: "It's (the affected area) still, quite literally, a pain in the a**e. But, other than that I feel fine. I feel great that I completed it, if I hadn't I'd be down in the dumps.
He added: "If someone says you can't do something, don't always listen. You can do more than you think - the human body is capable of amazing things."
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