A CUMBRIAN family of a farmer who passed away tragically from sepsis are raising awareness of the life-threatening infection.

Ben Richardson is raising awareness after his partner Hannah Brown, who lived near Appleby, passed away last year after suffering from the infection aged just 26.

Last March, Ms Brown attended Penrith Hospital after a friend indicated she may be suffering with the infection.

Immediately afterwards, the mother of one was transported to Cumberland Infirmary for treatment.

News and Star: Hannah Brown, Ben Richardson alongside their daughter Hannah Brown, Ben Richardson alongside their daughter (Image: Hannah Brown)

Mr Richardson said: "I wouldn’t want anybody to go through what we’ve had to go through. I wish I’d have known how to spot the signs before we got to that point.

"I don’t know how like our family friend could spot just talking to her for 2 minutes in the Co-op in Appleby. Yet, I lived with her. We all saw every hour of every day and we couldn’t spot and if we all knew how we could have prevented it," he said.

A new campaign video launched by the Sepsis Trust aims to raise awareness in the farming and rural communities - as experts believe, those in farming communities may be more vulnerable to the infection as a result of suffering cuts and grazes in line with their work.

 

The campaign looks to shed light on those in farming communities to keep an eye out for sepsis like symptoms.

The video is welcomed by Dorne Richardson, Mr Richardson’s mother, who has been the driving force behind the campaign – raising more than £65,000 for the charity.

"In this village alone, two ladies have had sepsis and been very, very poorly in hospital and were told that had they not presented themselves at the hospital, they wouldn’t be here today.

"And both of those have said that had they not known about Hannah, they wouldn’t have gone to the hospital. So we know we’ve saved two lives, but we just want to save so many more," she said. 

More than 245,000 people are affected by sepsis with at least 48,000  deaths in the UK each year.

According to the NHS, symptoms may include:

  • feeling dizzy or faint
  • a change in mental state – like confusion or disorientation.
  • diarrhoea
  • nausea and vomiting
  • slurred speech
  • severe muscle pain
  • severe breathlessness

    If you’ve been affected by sepsis a professional support team can help. Visit sepsistrust.org/get-support or call FREE on 0808 800 0029.

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