![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271317539-59a6.jpg\")
\n\t\tSkye had been a fit and active 23-year-old until she started experiencing extreme back pain (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tSkye had been a fit and active 23-year-old until she started experiencing extreme back pain (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n
In September 2024, thrill-seeker Skye Owen, was living an active<\/a> lifestyle in Cornwall<\/a>.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old loved to hike<\/a>, surf, snowboard and explore on her motorbike.<\/p>\n So, when she began experiencing back and hip pain following a busy weekend, she wasn\u2019t particularly worried.<\/p>\n But Skye\u2019s joint pain was actually experiencing a lesser-known symptom of sepsis<\/a>, a deadly condition which occurs when the body reacts to an infection.<\/p>\n Her condition was so critical, that doctors have since said she didn\u2019t realise how \u2018close\u2019 she was to death.<\/p>\n \t\t Speaking of her experience, Skye says: \u2018The pain was indescribable. It was that hopeless feeling of \u2018there is nothing I can do,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n When Skye first started experiencing symptoms last year, she assumed it was a sporting injury.<\/p>\n \u2018I thought I must have done something surfing or fallen weirdly, which wasn\u2019t out of the ordinary,\u2019 she explained.<\/p>\n \u2018The pain was a mix of a constant dull ache and every time I took a step it was a sharp shooting pain going down my leg.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t After visiting the GP, she was told her symptoms were most likely due to sciatica.<\/p>\n However, just hours later, the pain was becoming unbearable, and Skye\u2019s parents called 111, but she was again told it was the common ailment.<\/p>\n By the following morning Skye\u2019s pain had increased even further: \u2018The pain was not just when I moved anyway, it was constant and pulsating down my left leg and up my back.\u2019<\/p>\n She was in so much pain, she says she \u2018thought it would be easier to just die.\u2019<\/p>\n Desperate, her parents eventually called 999, and she was rushed to hospital \u2013 but doctors still weren\u2019t convinced she was seriously unwell.<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018At the end of the first day, the doctor came in and said it was time to leave as the scans were fine,\u2019 she says. <\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s terrifying to think that I could have gone home. They said I couldn\u2019t be there for back pain and I was being dramatic,\u2019 Skye recalled.<\/p>\n Refusing to leave, Skye wasadmitted onto a ward for pain management. It was there that she developed a fever \u2013 a more common symptom of sepsis \u2013 and a subsequent MRI scan revealed septic arthritis in her pelvis and hip (a localised joint infection), which developed into full-body sepsis, which has a mortality rate of 20%.<\/p>\n \t\t Skye noted: \u2018I was on the first ward for about four or five days before they started to realise it was sepsis. <\/p>\n \u2018My mum and dad pushed for another scan and they then did a much more in-depth MRI on my hip and pelvis. This is when they realised the sepsis was also in my joints, which is why I was in so much pain.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWhat is sepsis?\t\t\t<\/p>\n According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) sepsis is a life-threatening condition\u00a0that happens when the body\u2019s immune system has an extreme response to an infection, causing organ dysfunction. \t\t Upon being diagnosed, medics sprung into action. Skye underwent surgery and had the infection scooped out of her hip. She was then put on antibiotics.<\/p>\n After a month in hospital, Skye was discharged and has been staying with her parents while she relearns how to walk again. During her hip surgery a nerve injury left Skye with zero sensation in her leg.<\/p>\n However, regular physiotherapy has already helped her regain some strength.<\/p>\n Over a year after she first started experiencing pain, Skye isn\u2019t yet totally in the clear. She has regular blood tests and MRIs and also still has no further insight into how she contracted sepsis in the first place. <\/p>\n \t\t But now, she\u2019s focused on ensuring no-one else suffers a similar situation, urging others to \u2018trust their gut\u2019 as there\u2019s every chance it could be a \u2018life or death\u2019 situation.<\/p>\n A spokesman for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care System said: \u2018Across the NHS we are committed to learning from people\u2019s experiences to improve care and safety, have reviewed and evaluated sepsis practice in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health<\/a> system and are implementing recommendations in line with best sepsis practice, to improve awareness and early diagnosis.<\/p>\n \u2018Additionally two new initiatives are in place to support patients and families, Jess\u2019s Rule for GP surgeries and Martha\u2019s Rule in hospitals, which can be used to request an urgent patient review, ensuring early action, particularly for time-critical conditions like sepsis.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t Jess\u2019 rule was created in honour of Jessica Brady, who passed away of cancer<\/a> at the age of 27. In the five months lead up to her death Jessica had 20 GP consultations \u2013 none of which resulted in a cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n Martha Mills, was aged just 13 when died after developing sepsis in hospital, where she had been admitted with a pancreatic injury after falling off her bike.<\/p>\n Martha\u2019s family felt as though they were not listened to by medical professionals when they tried to report their fears about her deteriorating condition.<\/p>\n \u2018I knew there was something wrong as I know myself and I know my pain tolerance. You know your body better than anyone else,\u2019 says Skye.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tCommon symptoms of Sepsis\t\t\t<\/p>\n The most common symptoms of Sepsis can be identified by the following acronym:<\/p>\n Slurred speech or confusion<\/p>\n Extreme shivering of muscle pain<\/p>\n Passing no urine (in a day)<\/p>\n Severe breathlessness<\/p>\n It feels like you\u2019re going to do<\/p>\n Skin mottled or discoloured<\/p>\n Muscle or join pain is definitely one of the lesser known symptoms, however, it can definitely still be a sign of Sepsis. <\/p>\n Do you have a story to share?<\/p>\n Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271310138-bf34-e1761143454562.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe outdoor instructor regularly went surfing in her home county of Cornwall (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271310041-2dda-e1761137900151.jpg\")
\n\t\tSkye was experiencing excruciating pain but still wasn\u2019t being taken seriously by doctors (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271310025-9410-e1761143475936.jpg\")
\n\t\tAnd snowboarding! (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271310137-33f6-e1761143492225.jpg\")
\n\t\tIt took Skye\u2019s family advocating for her to finally get an accurate diagnosis (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n
\nWhile sepsis tends to be higher risk for older individuals or people with pre-existing health conditions, it can affect anyone \u2013 at any age.
\nSepsis is usually caused by bacterial infections. However, it can also be the result of other infections such as viruses, parasites or fungi.<\/p>\n![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271309992-5020-e1761137954531.jpg\")
\n\t\tSurgery on her hip was successful in removing the infection (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271310038-f148-e1761143512674.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe outdoor instructor is now using her personal experience to help advocate for others (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n![\"Pic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271309998-4c99-e1761143527883.jpg\")
\n\t\tSkye has now been undergoing physiotherapy to regain strength in her legs (Picture: Kennedy News & Media)<\/p>\n
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