A woman who nearly died after contracting sepsis while being treated for a kidney stone is raising awareness about the after effects of the condition.

Elisabeth Grover, from Harpenden, was treated at Luton and Dunstable Hospital last February after waking up with severe abdominal pain.

The 48-year-old discovered she had a kidney stone but it led to one of her tubes blocking, which caused blood poisoning and septic shock - the illness that killed Nic Grundy in BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers.

After receiving care in a high dependency unit she was taken to theatre to have surgery on her kidney but had a heart attack after the operation.

Ms Gover says she has also suffered from after effects, which has been “traumatic” for both her and her family.

She said: “It all happened very quickly even though I was fit and healthy.

I had treatment to deal with the after effects of the heart attack but nothing to deal with the trauma of contracting sepsis.

“Afterwards, I had fatigue, fogginess in my mind and was unable to remember things, along with breathlessness and chest pain.”

Sepsis in adults can initially look like flu, gastroenteritis or a chest infection.

The condition affects more than 250,000 people in the UK every year and people should seek medical help immediately if they develop any of the following symptoms:

  •  Slurred speech or confusion
  •  Extreme shivering or muscle pain
  •  Passing no urine in a day
  •  Severe breathlessness
  •  Feeling you’re going to die
  •  Skin mottled or discoloured

Ms Grover has now set up a support group called Beds, Herts and Bucks Sepsis Support Group.

For more information, email elisabeth@thegardensanctuary.co.uk

Visit sepsistrust.org