A father-of-two who thought he was suffering from flu nearly died after his throat infection triggered sepsis.
Matt Cooper had a sore throat in September last year before suddenly developing other symptoms such as chronic diarrhoea and aching muscles.
The 43-year-old’s GP allegedly diagnosed him with just a virus but later that night he developed a rash and luckily rang 111 who called for an ambulance.
As the paramedics arrived the father collapsed and they discovered he had developed potentially fatal group A strep.
Matt Cooper, who thought he was suffering from flu, nearly died after his throat infection triggered sepsis (pictured in hospital)
Mr Cooper is pictured with his partner Victoria and their children Benjamin, 4, and Olivia, 1
It was unclear whether the computer programmer would make it but after two weeks in hospital he miraculously survived.
Mr Cooper, from Long Ashton, in Bristol, said: ‘I knew I was unwell but didn’t think it was anything serious. I thought it was probably the flu.
‘I knew nothing about sepsis before it happened to me. I knew that I was sicker than I had ever been before but I still didn’t think I was seriously ill.
‘It was the middle of the night when I called 111 and I don’t really know what I was expecting or why I was calling. It didn’t occur to me to call 999. I didn’t think it was an emergency.
‘When the paramedic arrived he seemed to immediately recognise that there was something seriously wrong with me.’
When Victoria discovered that he was being rushed to hospital she frantically rang friends and family to come and look after her two children Benjamin, 7 and Olivia, 1.
Skin peels off of Mr Cooper’s hands (shown) as he went through the aftermath of sepsis shock
The father-of-two was in the Bristol Royal Infirmary Hospital in intensive care for around two weeks
She said: ‘I phoned the hospital to see if he was in a ward and they said, “he’s in resuscitation. If he makes it, he will be in intensive care.” I said, what do you mean “if”?
‘If there had been a small delay that would have cost him his life. He was so close. His skin turned really dark purple. He looked absolutely awful for days.’
Victoria was finally able to visit Mr Cooper in the hospital a few hours later that day and when she arrived he was still conscious but confused and struggling to breathe.
It was another four hours until they stabilised Mr Cooper and he was then taken to intensive care where he was put into a coma and dialysis lines were inserted.
Victoria added: ‘All of the blood rushed to my head. I was just hysterical. They didn’t know if he was going to make it. I had the worst feeling in the pit of my stomach.
‘The next few hours were critical. It was just something that we never thought could happen.
‘I had no idea how common it is and how many people are affected by it. I thought that you got blood poisoning from a rusty nail or something. I had no idea it could mask itself as a virus.
It was unclear whether Mr Cooper (pictured with Olivia) would make it but after two weeks in hospital he miraculously survived unscathed
‘A lot of people [with sepsis] think they have a really severe case of food poisoning or flu. It is hard to diagnose early on, you could be sent home and think that you’re okay.
‘Every single hour is critical, he was a couple of hours away from not making it. They showed us on a graph how close he was to losing his kidneys altogether and at that stage it would have been multiple organ failures.
The father-of-two was in the Bristol Royal Infirmary hospital in intensive care for around two weeks and was initially put into a wheelchair until he was able to walk again with the help of rehabilitation.
Victoria said: ‘It has been a rollercoaster and in some ways a positive experience because everyone has been so kind.
‘We have been living day by day. We just don’t want anyone else to go through that. We want to increase awareness.
‘I have never seen him so ill before. It was an extremely tiring time looking after children and not knowing if we were going to lose him and how I would tell our son.
‘I just kept thinking, how am I ever going to tell them? It really was life and death those first few days just from something as simple as a throat infection.’