Man relearns to walk after months-long sepsis battle

Craig Myall was put in an induced coma and spent five months in the hospital, having to learn to walk again when he woke up.

The 36-year-old spoke of his terrifying ordeal in battling his life-threatening condition, caused by an intestinal infection, which included hallucinations of "scorpions on the ceiling" and seeing an IKEA store outside the hospital.

Despite now having to live with a stoma and ileostomy - and having endured nine operations - dad-of-two Myall says he's "forever grateful" to be back at home with his two daughters.

He said: “I had heard of sepsis, but I didn’t really understand what it was, and I never thought it would happen to me.

“At the time, you don’t realize how ill you are, but it has a huge impact on your loved ones.

"The treatment I received was amazing; there’s no doubt I wouldn’t be here without it.

“Thanks to the hospital staff, I was able to come home and enjoy time with my children again."

Forklift driver Myall was rushed to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, in January after experiencing severe stomach pains.

Doctors discovered a serious intestinal infection, and surgeons removed nearly a litre of pus from around his bowel.

The infection triggered sepsis, a serious condition that can be fatal if not treated quickly.

Myall was placed in a medically induced coma in the hospital’s critical care unit, where a series of complications meant he had to undergo a total of nine separate operations.

He spent 18 days in a coma and more than six weeks in critical care before being transferred to another ward to continue his recovery.

Myall was finally discharged at the end of May, but left hospital in a wheelchair and struggled with his speech and memory.

He said: "I had to learn to do a lot again, including walking.

"At first, I couldn’t get my words out and I was very forgetful.

“I needed constant support, but now I can manage most things myself.

"With lots of physio, I can walk unaided, though the brain fog is still there.

“Essentially, I missed five months of my children’s lives.”

Throughout his treatment, Myall was supported by his sister, Sam, who paused her university studies to care for him, and his partner, who visited regularly.

“Sam put her life on hold for me,” Myall continued. “They both sat with me for hours. My sister even kept a diary, though I haven’t been able to read it yet.

“I also had terrifying hallucinations in critical care, like seeing scorpions on the ceiling, thinking I’d been kidnapped, or even thinking there was an IKEA outside the unit where I wanted a hot dog.”

A critical care follow-up team has supported Myall since his discharge, who recently took him to visit the unit where he was cared for, where he was able to ask questions about his treatment.

He was also able to personally thank the NHS staff who saved his life.

“It felt right to go back and say thank you," Myall added.

"So many people played a part in my recovery: dieticians, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, consultants, nurses and health care support workers.

"I’m grateful to every single one of them.”

When Myall first woke up in bed number 13 in critical care, he jokingly told his sister that 'nothing good could happen' in the bed.

"But I beat the odds to make it back home," he said.

Myall still requires further abdominal surgery but hopes to return to work as a forklift truck driver before the end of the year.