Medical student loses all her limbs to septic shock

Lily McGarry, 23, has had all four limbs amputated after being diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia

A 23-year-old medical student from Jersey has had all four limbs amputated after her flu-like symptoms turned into septic shock.

In January, Lily McGarry woke up with a sore throat and a cough but just days later she suffered two cardiac arrests and was fighting for her life.

Friends and housemates at Cardiff University have described Ms McGarry's ordeal as "unbelievably cruel" but said she continued to be positive and selfless throughout.

Ms McGarry's family said although she is getting stronger, she is still very sick so they are taking things a day at a time.

The family has set up a fundraiser for her recovery and thanked everyone who had offered support.

Ella Jennings, a fellow medical student at Cardiff University, lives with Ms McGarry.

Ms Jennings explained how she and another housemate decided to take Ms McGarry to hospital on 14 January after realising her flu symptoms were getting progressively worse.

Ms McGarry's family has thanked everyone who has reached out to offer support

She said Ms McGarry's condition "spiralled" once she was at the hospital, with a rash that started crawling up her neck while she was sitting in the waiting room.

After being diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia, Ms McGarry suffered two heart attacks and spent two weeks in a coma.

Ms Jennings said: "The thing that really sticks in my mind is for those first three or four days, all the staff in the intensive care kept saying Lily is the sickest patient in this hospital and she's at intensive care at the University of Hospital of Wales... a massive hospital with three or four thousand patients."

Ella Jennings (left) said her friend Lily McGarry (centre) was the most selfless person she had ever met

Ms McGarry was transferred to Morriston Hospital in Swansea where all four of her limbs were amputated, both legs to the knees and both arms to the elbows.

Ms Jennings said it was "a real shock" to find out about the amputations because Ms McGarry's friends and family thought things had been looking up.

She said the amputations were because the sepsis and septic shock caused Ms McGarry's blood pressure to drop so low that it shut off all blood supply to her limbs.

Ms Jennings said the aim of the fundraiser was to get Ms McGarry back doing everything she loves, such as running, swimming and surfing, but that would likely take a lot of money and support.

She said: "Lily is genuinely the kindest, most selfless person I've ever met.

"No amount of money or support is going to obviously bring back her limbs and bring back the life she should have had... but just anything we can do to help her live a life as full as possible."

Lily McGarry is described as a talented swimmer and an exceptional triathlete

Nathan Jegou is the head coach of a Jersey swim club, Tigers, where Ms McGarry and her mum were members.

He said Ms McGarry was a talented swimmer and exceptional triathlete who always came to training with a smile.

He said the fact she is loved by all has been shown in the outpouring of support the fundraiser has received so far.

He said: "You couldn't meet a nicer family, who obviously now need the support of the island to help Lily on her journey, who have no doubt come through it, smiling despite the cruelty of it all."

Six key symptoms

Dr Ron Daniels, founder of the UK Sepsis Trust, said every day the charity heard stories like Lily's where healthy, young people developed sepsis and were left with life-changing effects.

He said sepsis always started with an infection but it was not known why some people developed it and others did not.

He said sepsis could happen to anyone, of any age, but it could present very differently in each patient, making it hard to identify.

He said there were six key symptoms people could look for, that spelt out the word 'sepsis':

• S - slurred speech or confusion

• E - extreme pain in muscles and joints

• P - passing no urine in a day

• S - severe breathlessness

• I - people saying 'it feels like I'm going to die'

• S - skin that's mottled, discoloured or very pale

Dr Daniels said: "It's critical that public awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis continues to improve."