A mum-of-two lost both her legs after dramatically deteriorating overnight from flu-like symptoms on New Year's Eve.
Julianna Bransden had spent her first Christmas since the covid pandemic with her family when they were given the devastating news that her aunt had died unexpectedly of sepsis. Several days later the 44-year-old teacher started exhibiting flu-like symptoms and was stuck in bed.
But the following day the mum's condition went downhill and she "could not lift her head off the pillow". Jac Burgess, Julianna's sister, said her sister felt like she couldn't sit in A&E or get in a car so an ambulance was called to her.
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Jac, who owns a veterinary practice in Skelmersdale, said this call ultimately saved Julianna's life. Jac told LancsLive: "The doctors told us after that Julianna's body was basically compensating for her and had hidden how bad and ill she really was. She's young and healthy but suddenly fell off a cliff. In a timeframe of 30 minutes, her heart had stopped twice."
Doctors found Julianna had aggressive pneumonia, influenza and invasive Strep A on the day she was admitted on New Year's Day. At 9pm that evening, the family were told she may not make it through the night. Jac said: "There was a nurse there that had been working for eight years, one for 22 and another for 10 and they all said they've never seen a patient crash that dramatically. It's just been crazy."
Julianna spent 66 days in ICU being treated for septic shock and organ failure. After weeks of fighting for her life she woke to find severe damage to her hands and feet. She had to undergo surgery to have both her legs amputated below the knee.
She will also lose most of her fingers due to the severity of the sepsis. Jac said: "We were just desperately praying that she would just survive. I think with sepsis, people just think you either die or you survive.
"But with Julianna's condition, we want to raise awareness that it's not just being in hospital and being a life or death situation. We're now very confident that she's coming home. Her character as well, she's determined she's not going anywhere."
Jac said her sister has been "scarily stoic and super resilient". She added: "She's not just smiling for the pictures, she genuinely is. The only time she changed was when we were going through the Go Fund Me and she only got upset because I was upset.
"She's doing so well, I just can't imagine what it's like to not even be able to have a good cry and wipe away your own tears. She's a superstar."
Julianna, who lives in south Wales, is mum to William, 11, and Emilia, 14. She will soon return home in a wheelchair and start rebuilding her muscles and finding new ways of using her hands.
Jac said: "She was a really good pianist, so she may not be able to do that again. But we are feeling incredibly blessed and thankful. She's improving and that's something we never would have dreamed of a few weeks ago."
You can donate to Julianna's recovery journey by visiting their Go Fund Me page here.
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