Woman loses all her limbs after developing sepsis from common UTI

A 61-year-old British woman lost all her limbs after contracting a common urinary tract infection (UTI) while holidaying in Spain in 2017.

Kim Smith, who hails from Milton Keynes, was rushed to a hospital in Spain by her husband when she complained of intense back pain. Smith was diagnosed with sepsis, which she developed from a UTI. Doctors put her in an induced coma to save her life.

She had to spend six weeks at the Spanish hospital before she could be flown back to England, where she underwent further treatment at Milton Keynes Hospital.

She was then taken to Bedford Hospital for major surgery. The doctors there had to amputate her hands and legs as the infection had spread to all four of her limbs.

"I could see that it was obvious that my limbs needed to be amputated. When the doctor said it, I just said 'Yes that's fine. Get it done!' I knew enough to see they were useless and that nothing else could be done," she said.

She is now due to undergo an extremely rare double hand transplant and is on the waiting list for the procedure at Leeds General Infirmary. The facility has performed 14 life-changing transplants successfully since 2016, per The Independent.

Smith used to work as a hairdresser before she lost both her hands. She says she misses doing things on her own and hopes to one day be able to cook, sew, and do everything for herself again.

She also spoke about the unpleasant experiences she had at various hospitals during her recovery. "Sadly, at each hospital, there was always one bad nurse. The first physically abused me, the second was very rude to me for needing help and the last one refused to let me have privacy, which was really difficult to cope with," said Smith.

Kim had never even heard of sepsis before she had to fight it in 2017. She is now working to create awareness around it by posting and sharing her journey online.

Sepsis is the term used to describe a rare but serious complication caused by an infection that causes the immune system to go into overdrive. This triggers swelling, inflammation and blood clots.

If untreated, a patient's blood pressure will drop, cutting off blood supply to their vital organs – eventually resulting in death. This can happen in a matter of hours. According to the UK Sepsis Trust, five people die from sepsis every hour in the UK. It suggests that an early diagnosis can prevent deaths.