Edinburgh Dad shares story of losing his wife to raise awareness of sepsis
An Edinburgh Dad is sharing his story to help raise awareness of sepsis, which killed the mother of his two children
Last updated 1st Sep 2022
An Edinburgh Dad is sharing his story, about his wife's tragic death, to raise awareness of sepsis.
Adam Liddle's wife Emma thought she just had the flu, after days of trying to treat it at home she took a turn for the worst in March 2020.
Hours after arriving at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh the Modern Studies teacher died, just a week before her 40th Birthday - leaving behind two young sons, George and Roscoe.
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It happens when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
Sharing his families story as part of Sepsis Awareness month Adam Said:
"It's so important to raise awareness of what sepsis is, the fact it's the bodies reaction to an infection and the body just going into complete overdrive and attacking itself.
"That's what happened to my wife - and because the symptoms are so difficult to spot, because they're so common, I think if we can raise awareness of what the symptoms are and how to spot it early, we will save lives."
"Over the course of that day her situation rapidly deteriorated, and she passed away by six o'clock that same day."
Emma, who taught at Preston Lodge High School in East Lothian, originally began to feel flu like symptoms, she resorted to bed rest.
After five of that her condition plummeted overnight, and she was rushed to hospital.
Adam continued:
"Upon arrival they rushed us straight through to intensive care because of the rapid deterioration, that was about 9 o'clock in the morning.
"Over the course of that day her situation rapidly deteriorated, and she passed away by six o'clock that same day.
"She was only 39, she was a week away from turning 40, it was a week before the UK went into it's first national lockdown.
"At the time she died we had two kids, they were aged six and aged 16 months, and now they are nine and almost four - and I'm raising the two kids on my own."
What are the symptoms?
The five key symptoms of sepsis highlighted in the campaign are:
• Confusion
• Not passing as much urine as normal
• Very high or low temperature
• Uncontrolled shivering
• Cold or blotchy arms and legs
If someone has any of these symptoms, becoming noticeably worse, this could indicate sepsis and urgent medical attention should be sought.