Sepsis Dog Lick: sepsis dog lick left 56-year-old Manjit Sangha with quadruple amputation

Warning: this article contains images some readers might find upsetting. The sepsis dog lick that doctors believe started with a lick from her dog on a small cut or scratch left 56-year-old Manjit Sangha in hospital for 32 weeks and resulted in a quadruple amputation.

Sepsis Dog Lick: Patient Warning

Doctors believe her sepsis might have been caused by something as innocent as a lick from her dog on a small cut or scratch. As she recovers and begins to rebuild her life, Manjit Sangha now wants to warn others of the danger of sepsis, saying "it could happen to anybody. "

Rapid illness and collapse

Manjit Sangha, who worked seven days a week before her illness, returned home on a Sunday afternoon in July last year feeling unwell. By the following morning she was unconscious; her hands and feet were ice-cold, her lips had turned purple and she was struggling to breathe.

Her husband, Kam Sangha, described the speed of the decline: "Your mind is all over the place. You're thinking 'how can this happen in less than 24 hours?'" He added: "One minute on a Saturday she's playing with the dog, Sunday she's gone to work, Monday night she's in a coma. "

Hospital treatment and arrests

Medics initially thought the 56-year-old would almost certainly die. While in intensive care at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, Manjit Sangha's heart stopped six times. Following prolonged treatment she spent 32 weeks in hospital before finally returning home.

She left Ward 9 at Moseley Hall in Birmingham on a Wednesday and received a hero's welcome from her family in Penn, on the Wolverhampton/Staffordshire border.

Amputations and complications

Surgeons at Russells Hall Hospital in neighbouring Dudley later had to amputate both of her legs below the knee, as well as both of her hands, because of the spread of the condition. The former pharmacy worker also lost her spleen, battled pneumonia and developed gallstones which she was told might require further surgery.

Speaking about her experience, Manjit said: "It's difficult to explain the experience. Losing your limbs and your hands in a short time period is a very big thing. It's very serious and not to be taken lightly. " She added: "I didn't know what was happening. The first month I do not remember anything. "

Family reaction and recovery

Her return home followed an extended hospital stay and multiple cardiac arrests, and came amid strong family support after the amputations and other complications. Her case has prompted her personal warning about sepsis, and doctors have emphasised the speed with which her condition developed from what began as a small wound.

Sepsis is a rare but serious medical condition that occurs when the body's immune system, which is meant to fight against disease and infection, starts to attack the body's own tissues and organs. The NHS says it is life-threatening and can be hard to spot, while the UK Sepsis Trust says there are about 50, 000 sepsis-related deaths in the UK each year. In adults, symptoms can include slurred speech, extreme shivering or muscle pain, severe breathlessness and skin that is mottled or discoloured.

Manjit Sangha's situation — from feeling unwell on a Sunday afternoon in July last year to unconsciousness the next morning, multiple cardiac arrests in intensive care, loss of spleen, pneumonia, gallstones and the later amputations of both legs below the knee and both hands — illustrates the rapid and severe course of the illness. She and her family now hope her experience will serve as a warning to others.