A 32-year-old mother escaped death after doctors twice failed to spot she caught a potentially fatal stomach bug that caused her body to shutdown.
Rosie Summers unknowingly caught Clostridium difficile (C. diff) during a four-day stay in hospital to combat a kidney infection.
The bug triggered the silent killer sepsis – a violent immune response to an infection that can prove fatal, in which the body attacks its own organs.
Ms Summers went to hospital twice with symptoms of C. diff, including weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea – but on both occasions doctors failed to spot the bug.
It was only when Ms Summers, from Surrey, demanded her GP test her for the stomach bug that it was discovered – but it had already led to sepsis.
She was rushed to hospital and was given round-the-clock care for a week and her condition rapidly deteriorated as her family and friends feared the worst.
Rosie Summers unknowingly caught Clostridium difficile (C. diff) during a four-day stay in hospital to combat a kidney infection (pictured after her ordeal)
Ms Summers, who has now recovered and is back working as a teacher again full time, has spoken of her terrifying ordeal for the first time.
She revealed she was proud of herself for staying positive – despite being ‘faced with the prospect of dying’.
And Ms Summers is now urging others to learn the symptoms of sepsis, which the Daily Mail has long campaigned for to raise awareness.
She said: ‘It’s important to learn the symptoms of sepsis and watch out for them if you get any type of illness or infection.
‘Be so vigilant about ensuring that your voice gets heard. If the doctors dismiss you and say that you just have a virus, demand a blood test.
Ms Summers added: ‘If I hadn’t been proactive in seeking medical help, I could have died.’
Ms Summers, a primary school teacher, thought she picked up a UTI in March, after recognising the pain from a previous infection.
She was rushed to hospital in an ambulance the next day, when she found herself unable to stand and struggled to walk home after taking her son to school.
Ms Summers, from Surrey, went to hospital twice with symptoms of C. diff – but on both occasions doctors failed to spot the bug
She was rushed to hospital and was given round-the-clock care for a week as her condition rapidly deteriorated and her family feared the worst (pictured with her son in hospital)
Doctors discovered she had a kidney infection and Ms Summers spent four days in hospital before she was allowed home.
But in the following two weeks, she had returned to the hospital twice when she felt unwell – but only stayed a few hours.
During that fortnight, Ms Summers endured daily bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea, causing her weight to drop from 8st 10lbs to just 7st 10lbs.
She asked doctors to test her for C. diff – a contagious stomach bug that can cause watery diarrhoea and weight loss – after researching her symptoms online.
Tests came back positive for the killer bug and she was readmitted to the hospital with sepsis 14 days after she was first discharged.
Ms Summers said: ‘I had caught C. diff while in hospital and so I was re-admitted just two weeks after with severe sepsis, caused by C. diff.’
Doctors gave her two antibiotics, without knowing she was allergic to one and her condition was rapidly deteriorating. An alternative drug worked.
Ms Summers, who has now recovered and is back working as a teacher again full time, has spoken of her terrifying ordeal for the first time. She revealed she was proud of herself for staying positive – despite being ‘faced with the prospect of dying’
Ms Summers is now urging others to learn the symptoms of sepsis, which the Daily Mail has long campaigned for to raise awareness (pictured with her son)
After a week of round-the-clock care from doctors, Ms Summers was discharged once again after fighting off the bug and sepsis.
Ms Summers said: ‘This time in the hospital, I had allergic reactions to the antibiotics used to treat sepsis as my body was shutting down completely.
‘They had to treat sepsis and the superbug with two different medications and I was put in hospital isolation for a week.
‘My friends and family were worried and scared that I wouldn’t recover. Thankfully the alternative medication worked.
It took her another six weeks to build-up enough strength to return to her normal working hours, after suffering exhaustion from her battle.
Now Ms Summers is ‘overly cautious’ every time she feels unwell, after her fight with sepsis amid her own fears it could happen again.
She said: ‘I’m scared of being hospitalised again because being in isolation was quite traumatic. I’m now extremely conscious of my health.
‘I drink lots of water, take vitamins every day, I eat healthily and I’m vigilant about any symptoms of illness that ever occur.
‘I suffered emotionally for a long time and I still live in fear every time I feel unwell because it brings back the memories of it all.’
Now Ms Summers is ‘overly cautious’ every time she feels unwell, after her fight with sepsis amid her own fears it could happen again (pictured in hospital)
Ms Summers said: ‘My friends and family were worried and scared that I wouldn’t recover. Thankfully the alternative medication worked’ (pictured in hospital)
During that fortnight, Ms Summers endured daily bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea, causing her weight to drop from 8st 10lbs to just 7st 10lbs (pictured in hospital)