'I walked down the aisle after losing my legs'

"It was a very emotional day but it was very good" - Karen Paget speaking about her wedding day

After sepsis left her with no legs or fingers, Karen Paget had to learn to walk again using prosthetics. Earlier this year, having learned to do so faster than expected, she walked down the aisle on her wedding day.

She was working as a nurse on shift at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth in 2018 when she started to feel unwell with flu-like symptoms.

Three days later, she took a turn for the worse before being diagnosed with sepsis and admitted to intensive care.

The life-threatening condition occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to an infection, damaging the body's own tissues and organs, according to the NHS.

"I honestly felt like I was going to die as I felt so unwell," Mrs Paget said.

The couple wanted to thank those who made the walk down the aisle possible so asked their guests for donations to the Thornberry Centre instead of presents

When doctors found an infection that needed surgery to remove part of her bowel, her family was told to prepare for the worst.

Her now husband, Lyndon Paget, said: "When they told me to go home and phone all the family... I realised it was very serious."

She pulled through the operation but her kidneys failed, her feet and fingers turned black and she was told she would need to have both her legs amputated.

She said: "My fingers were completely black and hard and you could tap them on a table and it would sound like a really harsh noise. My legs were discoloured and painful and they were smelling."

Over the next few months, Karen had her legs removed and then the fingers on both hands.

Physiotherapy assistant Yvie Place said: "Anything you threw at Karen, she would challenge herself."

In February 2019, she went to Livewell Southwest's Thornberry Centre in Plymouth, where the prosthetics and physiotherapy team helped her adapt to using new artificial limbs.

It was expected to take Karen a year to learn how to walk again unaided, but she was able to achieve it in nine months.

Yvie Place, physiotherapy assistant at the centre, said: "Anything you threw at Karen, she would challenge herself. She worked very, very hard."

Mrs Paget said: "I'd been a nurse for 32 years when this happened. I wanted to be an independent person and with everybody’s help, I've achieved that."

The £1,450 given in lieu of wedding presents is to be used to enhance the patient environment at the centre

She continues to work as a staff nurse in the colorectal cancer outpatient department at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust.

In May they got married near Tavistock, where Mr Paget said he "sobbed uncontrollably".

She said: "It was absolutely amazing. I got what I had wanted for a very long time. It was a very emotional day but it was very good.

"This is our 16th year that we've been together. We decided when we got married, we had everything we need.

"The people that were important in enabling me to walk down the aisle - we decided to give something back."

The couple asked for donations instead of presents and visited the centre in September to present a cheque.

The money is to be used to enhance the patient environment.