Carol Jepson fainted in her bedroom, bashing her head as she fell. When she was discovered unconscious two days later, it was just the beginning of a horrendous ordeal
Carol tumbled over and was left unconscious – the long-term effects were devastating(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
A former GP practice manager almost died when she fainted but wasn’t found for two days – crushing her legs and leaving her with a permanent ‘ballerina foot’.
Carol Jepson was grabbing something from her bedroom on April 28 when she passed out hitting her face against a wall and fracturing her shoulder. The 66-year-old collapsed and passed out in a kneeling position for 48 hours and then entered a state of ‘delirium’ due to an underlying infection her body was fighting at the time.
Concerned they couldn’t reach her by phone, Carol’s sister and niece went to her house and, discovering her on the floor, used a dressing gown cord to pull her legs from under her and called 999. Carol was blue-lighted to A&E, where she fell unconscious for two days as her organs started shutting down, with doctors fearing she could die.
Carol was doing incredible damage to her own body as she lay unconscious(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
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When she eventually woke up she was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis and given antibiotics that stabilised the infection. Doctors also diagnosed Carol as having rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening condition causing muscle breakdown from crushing her legs.
Carol has been told she may never walk again and she’s been left with a permanently pointed ‘ballerina’ foot. She’s now fundraising for an electric wheelchair to help her get around as the muscles have yet to regenerate.
Carol, from Romford, Essex, said: “I have one memory from that time and I remember looking down at my legs and thinking, ‘why are my legs on backwards?’, because they were underneath me. Apparently I had collapsed onto my knees and fell back onto my legs. I was there for upwards of 18 hours to two days.
Carol’s legs were effectively crushed(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
“I had pneumonia but I wasn’t aware at the time. I felt a bit unwell and I was coughing and I thought it was a chest infection, the pneumonia turned to sepsis. I’d gone into delirium because of [it].
“The neurosurgeon said I had a delirium and I was in a type of trance, they weren’t expecting me to live. My kidneys were really damaged and they didn’t think I was going to survive as they thought my body was shutting down. They had the end-of-life team there.
“[After being diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis], my consultant kept telling me it was going to take a long time [for my legs to heal]. At the time, I didn’t grasp the severity of it. [Currently], my foot just dangles and the foot looks like a ballerina foot. That’s what I call it. With the way the muscles were all constricted, it just points out.
The condition was life threatening(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
“One of the physios said to me I’m very unlikely to walk [again] because if your muscles haven’t regenerated within a year, they’re not going to come back at all. I essentially crushed my own legs.”
After a month in hospital, Carol was transferred to a rehabilitation centre on May 28th where she still remains and is receiving physio to try and repair her muscles.
Carol continues to receive physio(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
Despite trying different techniques, including specialised boots and a splint to help heal her legs, it’s not been successful yet. Carol said: “I really wanted to walk and I thought I would with my boots but up to now it hasn’t worked.
“They [the physios] have helped me to stand because my legs are screaming to stand. It’s not my brain, it’s my legs, it’s like muscle memory.”
Carol is now being prepared to move home and will have to use a wheelchair to get around the house. To give her more independence, she’s keen to get an electric one but there is currently a two-year waiting list on the NHS.
Carol said: “An electric wheelchair would help me so much. It would help me get around my flat and get to the sink and bathroom. It will give me my independence back. It will help give me the confidence to one day go out on my own.”
Carol hopes to raise enough money for an electric wheelchair(Image: Kennedy News & Media)
You can donate to Carol’s electric wheelchair fundraiser here: Donate to LIFE CHANGING INJURIES FOLLOWING COLLAPSE, organized by Ella Short
What is rhabdomyolsis? (Info from NHS)
Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially life-threatening condition caused by the rapid breakdown of damaged muscle with the release of the intracellular muscle contents, including myoglobin, creatine kinase and various electrolytes, into the bloodstream and extracellular space.