Mum who lost all limbs in sepsis warning as killer infection strikes on holiday

Kim Smith, 63, devloped sepsis after being diagnosed with a urine infection while on holiday in Spain
-Credit: (Image: Sunday Mirror)


A mum has told how she lost both her legs and hands to a killer infection after being placed in a nine-week long coma. Quadruple amputee Kim Smith, developed life-threatening sepsis while on holiday in Spain. She woke up in the middle of the night telling her husband "I'm going to die" before being rushed into hospital.

To mark World Sepsis Day, the mum has issued an urgent plea for greater awareness of the condition, as she warned: "The sooner it's treated, the less likely you are to lose your limbs - or your life."

Her terrifying ordeal started in 2018, when Kim had travelled to Alicante with her husband Steve, when she suddenly began to feel poorly. Thinking she had developed a urine infection, she visited doctors in Spain, who gave her an injection and prescribed her antibiotics.

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Kim lost both her hands to sepsis
Kim lost both her hands to sepsis -Credit: Tom Maddick SWNS

But when the local chemist didn’t have them in stock, the pair returned to their hotel, where Kim's condition quickly deteriorated, The Mirror reports. She said: "At around 4am, I woke my husband up and said: 'I'm going to die. I need to go to the hospital now.'

"I got to hospital and they immediately put me into a coma. I was in a coma for six weeks in Spain before my children finally managed to get the travel insurance to agree to send an air ambulance for me. When I was flown back to the UK, I was put in a coma for a further three weeks."

Kim, from Milton Keynes, then woke to a doctor telling her she would need to have both her hands and legs amputated in order to save her life. Kim replied: "Yeah, that's fine. How soon can you get them off?'" And just over a week later, her limbs were amputated.

She said: "I lost my legs above the knee, and I lost my hands. I was lucky I didn't lose my arms to my elbow - because they were black but the doctors managed to scrape that dead skin off." Kim is now warning others to keep an eye out for what could indicate early signs of sepsis.

Those with the infection may experience a very high or very low body temperature, uncontrollable shivering, vomiting, confusion or disorientation and may pass less urine than normal. Blotches may also appear on the arms or legs, and cold limbs may also point to signs of sepsis.

The mum was in a coma for nine weeks
The mum was in a coma for nine weeks -Credit:Kim Smith / SWNS

While she is no longer able to work, Kim has dedicated her life to being an ambassador for sepsis research and currently volunteers for the UK Sepsis Trust. She warned: "Everybody needs to learn the symptoms, because if they get an infection, they could develop sepsis - which means they must get to A&E immediately. Only IV's, antibiotics and fluids will cure sepsis, nothing else.

"If you leave it, you are likely to lose your limbs, and your life. Every three seconds in the world, somebody dies from Sepsis. Globally, there are around 47-50million sepsis cases per year. It kills around 50,000 people in the UK alone. It is one of the biggest killers", she adds.

Kim Smith's hand before it was amputated
Kim Smith's hand before it was amputated -Credit:Courtesy Kim Smith / SWNS

"People say you've got to be poorly to get it, and that you won't get it if you're healthy, but that's not the case. It doesn't matter if you're healthy. It can still affect you as long as you've got an infection. Anyone can get sepsis, poorly or not, young or old."

Sepsis survivor Elaine Price-Marvin, has been left bed-bound by the crippling after effects of sepsis. The 49-year-old from the Isle of Wight was lucky not to lose any limbs, she now suffers from post sepsis syndrome – where patients continue to experience physical and emotional symptoms of the infection, lasting months, or even years, after they develop sepsis.

'Anyone can get sepsis' says Kim
'Anyone can get sepsis' says Kim -Credit:Tom Maddick SWNS

Elaine added: "Sepsis left me close to death. It's one of the worst things I've been through in my entire life. Mine was caused by infected leg ulcers, which left me really poorly and caused my legs to be bandaged up in hospital.

"I'm totally bed bound. I can't put weight on my legs at all, and the last time I tried, I broke my toes. I have a drop foot on my right foot, numbness, weakness, exhaustion. I also have cognitive difficulties – mostly difficulties with memory."

Warning others to keep an eye out for the symptoms of sepsis, Elaine added: “You have to keep an eye on your body.

"It may feel like a flu coming on, but it's not. You may think 'Oh I'll just treat myself with some over-the-counter flu medication', but the next thing you know, you're in the hospital almost dying.”

Elaine has been bed bound for five years
Elaine has been bed bound for five years -Credit:Supplied

Medics Duaa Sidahmed and Mohammed Hassan, tragically lose their son Yousef to sepsis in February 2023, shortly after his first birthday. This was despite the couple's desperate calls to doctors that they suspected he had the life-threatening infection.

Mohammed, 40, from Birmingham, said: "Yousef was struggling for days with an infection that wasn't improving. What made it worse was that me and Duaa are both in the medical field. We saw it happening and took him to the hospital four times because we were almost sure it was sepsis, but we weren't listened to."

The couple were told they were being over-cautious, and were advised to “just be parents” and forget about their medical knowledge.

Yousef tragically died from sepsis shortly after his first birthday in February 2023
Yousef tragically died from sepsis shortly after his first birthday in February 2023 -Credit:Supplied

Mohammed added: “It wasn't until we visited the hospital the fourth time, when Yousef deteriorated in the waiting room and his condition became advanced, that the doctors took him in and agreed it could be sepsis."

In Yousef’s case, the infection was caused by a bacteria called pseudomonas aeruginosa, but the family were not told where it had come from. In an urgent plea, Mohammed said: "I've got two messages, the first is to simply take parents' concerns seriously. The second, is to not base your judgement on how a child looks. Yousef was recorded as being stable just because he was alert and resisted his medical examination. A child being alert is not a sign of stability.”

Mum Duaa said: “Sometimes I just can’t believe that Yousef is really gone, and I find myself calling his name or singing his favourite songs. But every day is a hard day. Everything seems to be triggering and I think we’re just trying our best to cope and accept that grief will forever be a part of us, and this is our way now to show love and remember Yousef.”

The UK's leading sepsis charity, The UK Sepsis Trust, says that decline in sepsis outcomes is related to a de-prioritisation of sepsis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Dr Ron Daniels, Founder & Joint CEO of the charity, said: "We’re calling on the government to commission clear and efficient pathways within the NHS, supported by integrated care boards, to ensure that suspected sepsis is taken seriously – every time – in Accident & Emergency (A&E) departments nationwide.”

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