Key points
- The 23-year-old was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia
- She survived two cardiac arrests
- The infection caused severe blood flow issues in her body
- She now wants people to have the meningitis vaccine
ISLAMABAD: A medical student who lost all four limbs due to sepsis has called on people to get the meningitis vaccine to help prevent them going through a similar ordeal, according to Sky News.
Lily McGarry was rushed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff with flu-like symptoms in January before her condition rapidly worsened and she went into septic shock.
The 23-year-old was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia, a type of blood poisoning caused by the same kind of bacteria that causes the most common form of bacterial meningitis.
Two cardiac arrests
McGarry, who is originally from Jersey but was studying in Cardiff, survived two cardiac arrests before spending a fortnight in a coma and more than 100 days in intensive care.
The infection caused severe blood flow issues in her body and, as a result, she had to undergo surgery to amputate all four of her limbs at the Morriston Hospital in Swansea.
Get meningitis vaccine
As the Cardiff University student begins her rehabilitation, her father Stuart McGarry told The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee his daughter now wants people to have the meningitis vaccine to help prevent protect them against meningococcal septicaemia.
Mr McGarry said: “(Lily) wants to get the message out to everyone. The (meningitis) vaccination rate post-COVID for children has dropped off significantly. She just wanted to get the message over to get vaccinated.
“I mean, obviously, Lily proves that it doesn’t work for 100% of the people 100% of the time.
“But the meningitis vaccination programme in the UK has been phenomenally successful… some of the staff at Cardiff hospital hadn’t seen a case like Lily for 10 years. So, it’s proven it’s effective. It works. Get it.”
Vaccination
According to NHS UK, meningitis can be caused by a number of different infections, so several vaccinations offer some protection against it.
According to NHS UK, symptoms of meningitis and sepsis include:
- a high temperature
- cold hands and feet
- vomiting
- confusion
- breathing quickly
- muscle and joint pain
- pale, mottled or blotchy skin (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
- spots or a rash (this may be harder to see on brown or black skin)
- headache
- a stiff neck
- a dislike of bright lights
- being very sleepy or difficult to wake
- fits (seizures)
Babies may also:
- refuse feeds
- be irritable
- have a high-pitched cry
- have a stiff body or be floppy or unresponsive
- have a bulging soft spot on the top of their head
