Scotsman Matthew Hicks: A Survivor’s Journey from Sepsis to Amputation

2023-06-21 11:17:57

Scotsman Matthew Hicks thought he had a cold, and contented himself with taking fever-reducing tablets and painkillers, but after his condition deteriorated and he was taken to hospital, he was diagnosed with sepsis, a serious disease in which the body does not respond to infection properly, streptococcus A and pneumonia, and when it stopped When the blood reached his feet, doctors had to amputate his legs, according to the British newspaper, Mirror.

Initially, Matthew Hicks took some paracetamol when he developed a high fever in March of this year, and after his health deteriorated, his wife Rachel eventually called an ambulance that took him to the Royal Aberdeen Hospital where doctors discovered he had sepsis and A streptococcus Pneumonia in the right lobe of the lung.

Doctors rushed to put Matthew into a coma when his organs began to stop performing their functions to save his life, and after he woke up from the coma after two weeks, the doctors told him that the blood was no longer reaching his feet and that they needed to amputate his legs below the knee.
Hicks said, in an interview with the “Daily Record” newspaper, that he did not “really understand what was happening when the doctors told him of the decision to amputate his feet,” noting that he was “completely shocked” after the completion of the surgery, but he was “desperate and did not try to push them away.”

Hicks’ daughter Evie, three, was unable to see her father for seven weeks, which his wife Rachel said was the hardest part of all the tragedy.
Hicks’ wife, 36, recounted the chapters of her family ordeal, saying: “He was taken straight to the intensive care unit and I was told he was in a critical condition,” expressing her surprise and annoyance, especially that her husband was “usually fit and healthy,” and that he was complaining Just had a bad cold and a high temperature and he was feeling a bit better with the paracetamol tablets, so they both thought he was fine.
She added that she did not imagine “how serious it was, as the doctors put him in a coma,” and she was told that there was no improvement and that, as a last resort, they would use a device called ECMO to help keep him alive. By supplying oxygen to the blood outside the body.
She said the attending physician was “painfully honest”, telling the family that if the ECMO device did not help stabilize Hicks’ organs, he would have no other options.
And Rachel continued, saying that she and the rest of the family applied a state of silence and disbelief to them, but they felt very relieved when they were told that Hicks had succeeded in overcoming the danger stage, and then they received more bad news about the amputation of his legs, stressing that she did not think that “things will work.” Like this for a moment.”
Hicks’ wife concluded, “It was so powerful and amazing. And his attitude was very positive,” noting that his main focus is on their daughter Effie, who is the source of his inspiration with strength to overcome the crisis, especially since he also developed a heart condition after the treatment period, which extended to 12 weeks, as a result of severe sepsis that caused his heart to function poorly. It did not exceed 34%, which doctors believe is that only time will determine the effect it will have.

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