A mum-of-two has had both legs amputated and is due to lose most of her fingers weeks after going to bed with flu-like symptoms. Julianna Bransden, a primary school teacher from Narberth, Pembrokeshire, first started feeling ill last Christmas.
The 44-year-old's condition deteriorated and by New Year's Eve she was "stuck in bed", reports LancsLive. On New Year's Day her husband Tim said she "could not lift her head of the pillow" and did not feel well enough to even check her phone or get in the car.
He called 111 for advice and it was recommended that Julianna continue to rest. But Tim's instinctive decision to call an ambulance instead ultimately saved her life.
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Julianna's sister Jac Burgess, who lives in Lancashire, said: "She's young and healthy but suddenly fell off a cliff. In a timeframe of 30 minutes her heart had stopped twice." Within an hour or two of her being admitted to Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest doctors informed Julianna's family she had sepsis and required a ventilator.
They discovered she had influenza, invasive Strep A, and aggressive pneumonia and warned that she might not make it through the night. Since then the teacher has spent 66 days being treated in ICU for septic shock and organ failure. "[The nurses] all said they've never seen a patient crash that dramatically," Jac said.
During her long hopsital stay Julianna has received 24-hour care and full-life support as she fought for her life over several weeks. She experienced severe damage to her hands and feet. She has had to have both her legs removed below the knee and will lose most of her fingers.
Her family have started a fundraiser to help Julianna regain her independence. She will require a wheelchair when she returns to her home in Narberth. Her house will also have to be adapted and it is hoped she can get prosthetics in the future.
Jac said: "We were just desperately praying that she would just survive....We're now very confident that she's coming home. Her character as well, she's determined she's not going anywhere."
She continued: "She's been scarily stoic and super-resilient. She's not just smiling for the pictures, she genuinely is. The only time she changed was when we were going through the GoFundMe 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 is mother to "two beautiful kids," William, 11 and Emilia, 14, and has been a primary school teacher for the last 19 years.
Jac said: "She's got a long road ahead of her, rebuilding her muscles that have basically disappeared and finding new ways of using her hands. 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 the fundraiser for Julianna here.
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