Teenager returns home after sepsis treatment

Hamish spent an afternoon with Lord Craig Mackinlay in the centre

A teenager who lost four limbs to sepsis last year has been discharged from an amputation rehabilitation unit in London.

Hamish Wilson, from Crowborough in East Sussex, had just started university in Southampton in October 2024 when he suddenly became ill.

He now has prosthetic legs and as well as learning to walk, he has been learning skills such as cookery so he can go back to university in Southampton.

The 18-year-old spent an afternoon with Lord Craig Mackinlay in the centre, the MP who also had limbs amputated due to sepsis.

Mackinlay is campaigning for amputees to have access to the best prosthetics available via the NHS.

He said: "With Hamish leaving this place I know exactly how he's feeling.

"The staff here are lovely and you've had a decent experience but there's nothing like home."

Hamish has been able to return home at weekends but this marks a permanent return home

Hamish said: "I can make basic things, like a bowl of cereal.

"I think more complex meals, it's quite difficult as I can't really chop stuff or cut meat or do anything like that.

"I'm just waiting for my hands to heal and then waiting after that to get prosthetics, which takes a while.

"I've been told I'll have to go back to university without any hands which sucks but there is nothing I can do about it."

Michelle Knowles, occupational therapist and team leader at the amputation rehabilitation unit in Guy's and St Thomas' said: "From the start we work on the basic activities of daily living.

"Hamish managed to progress relatively quickly through all of them.

"We gave him some adaptive tools and he was dressing himself within the first week.

"With cooking we're teaching him to use spoons, spatulas, larger items or clippers to flip bacon."

What is sepsis?

• Sepsis is known as the "hidden killer" because it can be so hard to detect.

• It is caused by the immune system going into overdrive. Instead of just fighting an infection, it starts attacking other parts of the body too.

• Ultimately it causes organ failure. Even survivors can be left with long-term damage and disability.

• Bacteria and viruses that cause diarrhoeal infections or lung diseases are the leading triggers of sepsis.

• The symptoms, external include loss of consciousness, severe breathlessness, a high temperature, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea and severe muscle pain.