A young woman who fell into septic shock while at work has spoken of her traumatic experience.
Rachel Flynn, 25, was in the office in Edinburgh back in September 2022 when she suddenly became very unwell. Before she knew it, she was in the back of an ambulance being rushed to hospital.
Eight months on, Rachel is preparing to raise funds for charity Sepsis Research FEAT, who research and design treatments for sepsis, by running a half marathon - something she wasn't sure she'd be able to do a few months ago.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Rachel said: "I was in the office finishing up for the week, even though it was a Wednesday, as I was getting ready to go to one of my great friends' hen parties in Marbella - which shows how fine I was feeling. About 11am, I started feeling really unwell and not myself.
"As the afternoon went on I just started getting worse and worse, my desk was just covered in sweat and I was so poorly. The heat coming off me was like nothing else, I was shivering and felt so sick and weak and my muscles didn’t feel like they were working."
She decided to work from home for the afternoon, and walked in the door before looking in the mirror and seeing her lips were blue. After struggling up the stairs, Rachel tried her best to warm herself up with no luck.
She continued: "When I was lying there I called my GP again, and told them I felt like I was dying. They recommended calling 999. Next thing I know the paramedics are in my house, my fiancé is pulling up wondering what is going on."
Rachel's fiancé Jordan was told by paramedics that she was in septic shock, while she was told that 'everything was fine, and she just needed checked over' in hopes that a calm attitude would regulate her body a bit.
She added: "The nurses took one look at me and all I could do was cry. I just remember the machines making the most awful sounds.
"I got rushed to resus twice, heart rate sky high and blood pressure really low. They were explaining my situation was like a 'puncture in a tyre' - they knew something was wrong but they couldn't figure out where.
"It was just a really scary time. It went downhill so quickly."
She was given an ultrasound, where doctors found a kidney infection that had progressed badly. They also found fluid around other organs, and Rachel was diagnosed with both sepsis and meningism.
After nine days of hospital care, Rachel was released - though was struggling to remember what had happened.
She was told to take three weeks of recovery, and did a phased return to work. It took months, however, for Rachel to return to her usual self.
She said: "It took about five months for me to do any exercise again. I was in a really horrible mental state, thinking 'my body is so fragile, anything could happen'.
"My first spin class after it all, I was sobbing. Sometimes you just need to realise what you’re capable of. I suddenly had such a gratefulness that my body was allowing me to do it."
Now that she's back on track, Rachel hopes to raise awareness of the warning signs of sepsis. A sudden spike in temperature, blue lips, a rash that doesn't go away when you pull the skin, and feeling freezing cold are just a few.
In just a few weeks, she'll be taking part in the Edinburgh Half Marathon - and has already smashed her target of raising £500 for Sepsis Research FEAT.
You can donate to Rachel's fundraiser, and find out more about sepsis, here.
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