'Our beautiful daughter died of sepsis at 29 – we don't want any family to go through the same heartache'
Rachel Day was described by her parents as a “truly unique character” who would light up a room with her beauty, humour and infectious personality.
The fitness fanatic, who was a teenage Welsh judo champion, was an experienced lifeguard and swimming instructor at Llanishen Leisure Centre but had plans to switch careers and set up her own dog creche business.
However, in the bloom of her life the 29-year-old was struck down with sepsis which quickly ravaged her body. Just 10 days after her diagnosis, she was dead.
“Rachel had such a cheeky sense of humour - everyone was drawn to her,” said her heartbroken mum, Bernie Day. “She was fit, healthy and had a very clear idea about what she wanted to do with her life, but sadly those dreams were never fulfilled.”
In May 2017, Bernie said Rachel had enjoyed an “incredible” Bank Holiday weekend watching the sunset with her friends in Ogmore-by-Sea and going for cocktails in Cardiff Bay.
But on the Bank Holiday Monday, Rachel complained to her flatmate of breathlessness, vomiting and “feeling like she was dying”. She was then taken to the emergency department at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) at around 4am.
Despite returning home a few hours later, her condition took a severe turn for the worse.
“I had tried texting her as we were meant to meet for a coffee, but I didn’t get a response which was very unusual,” Bernie added. “In the end I tried ringing her – and she just about had the strength to reach over and tap her phone to answer me.
“She was screaming uncontrollably down the phone in pain. Those screams will remain with me for the rest of my life. I left the coffee shop, kept her on speakerphone and went straight to her flat.
“Her body was swollen, her skin was mottled and her lips were blue. She kept crying ‘Mum, you’ve got to help me’. We later found out that her lactic acid was eight times the normal level, which was causing the excruciating pain in her legs.”
Bernie called for an ambulance which took Rachel back to UHW and onto the resuscitation unit. Consultants deemed her condition so severe that she needed to be placed into an induced coma so her body could rest.
Rachel’s dad Steve said: “We were able to speak to Rachel before she was sedated and tell her that we’d be by her bedside the whole time. We were then taken into a side room by a consultant who told us that she probably wouldn’t survive the night. I couldn’t take it in because I was in such shock.”
In intensive care, Rachel deteriorated over the course of the next few days. “She began not to look like Rachel,” Steve admitted. “Her nose had turned black and she had drips everywhere. She even had blood trickling from her eyes, nose and ears. Sepsis was affecting almost every part of her body.”
After six days in a coma, Rachel was slowly brought back round by doctors so they could assess what damage had been done to her brain.
Even though she was unable to talk, she could communicate through blinking - one for yes, two for no. She also recognised the voices of close friends, blinking when they sang her funny Dr Dre songs.
“I started singing ‘Close to You’ by the Carpenters, and I think she blinked about 20 times to tell me to stop singing,” Bernie joked. “She still had her sense of humour, even at that point.”
The following morning, the family were given another glimmer of hope when Rachel managed to open her eyes for her dad. But sadly, her body was too tired to do it again and she was once again put under sedation.
On June 5, consultants broke the news that Rachel would need to have her right arm and two legs amputated – a devastating blow to her chances of a good recovery.
“We called the family in to discuss whether to go through with it, and the consensus was that Rachel would be strong enough to continue her life with just her one arm,” Bernie recalled. “It would give her a chance, and her personality would get her through.”
But it transpired that even her left arm could not be saved, and neither could her vital organs which began shutting down one by one. She passed away on June 7, 2017 at the age of just 29.
Bernie said: “At that point she knew it was her time to go. She had to agree to turn off her life support which was heartbreaking. We all managed to say our goodbyes to her, and we vowed to never let her down and make sure the whole world knew the word ‘sepsis’.”
Sepsis is a condition where the immune system overreacts to an infection or injury and goes into overdrive, affecting healthy tissue and organs. Any adult may have sepsis if they show any of these six signs:
Slurred speech or confusion
Extreme shivering
Passing no urine (in a day)
Severe breathlessness
It feels like you’re going to die
Skin mottled or discoloured
The UK Sepsis Trust estimates that 48,000 people die each year with sepsis-related illnesses. It has been described as a “ticking timebomb” as many of the initial signs can be very subtle and then progress rapidly within hours.
While sepsis primarily affects very young children, older adults, and people with underlying health conditions, it can sometimes be triggered in those who are otherwise fit and healthy, like Rachel. If you or another adult develop any of these signs, it is important to seek urgent medical attention.
Since her death, Rachel’s family have made huge strides in raising awareness of sepsis for both the public and members of clinical staff. They funded the Sepsis Six Pathway which is used by colleagues across the NHS to identify early interventions and appropriate antibiotic treatment for patients.
Bernie said: “When I had breast cancer, I got screened. But when Rachel went to A&E that night, there was no screening process for sepsis. I believe that could have saved her life. We vowed to change that not just for A&E, but for all wards.”
In addition, the charity ‘Rachel’s Day’ and her army of volunteers have raised around £60,000 for sepsis awareness by doing a whole host of events, balls, marathons, annual dog walks and much more. Bernie, who has completed six half marathons herself since Rachel’s passing, has also spoken publicly about her experiences to NHS staff, law firms and university students.
On World Sepsis Day on Friday, September 13, Hallmark Care Homes will launch an e-learning module for nurses and carers about sepsis which Bernie and Steve helped to create. They hope to work with the Welsh NHS to produce something similar.
For years the family has worked alongside Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, funding sepsis awareness signs on lifts in UHW and University Hospital Llandough.
Bernie concluded: “I think Rachel’s death has definitely helped to raise the profile of sepsis, but it’s still happening. There remain people who’ve needed amputations - or have lost their lives - as their sepsis hasn’t been diagnosed quickly enough. We can’t have that anymore. Our work will continue.”
Dr Paul Morgan, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s sepsis lead, has worked alongside the Day family to help raise awareness of sepsis to patients, visitors and staff.
"Sepsis affects many thousands of people in the UK each year, with around 48,000 people losing their lives to it,” he explained. “Sepsis kills more people each year in the UK than the combined total of deaths from breast, bowel and prostate cancers.
“While many of these deaths occur in those already at or approaching end of life, there are many others such as Rachel Day who are tragically struck down in the prime of life. Of those who survive, many are left with life-changing physical and psychological problems, such as former Member of Parliament, Craig McKinley.
“Cardiff and Vale UHB is in the process of updating its sepsis screening and treatment processes to reflect recent changes in national guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC). Teaching on sepsis is being updated to incorporate these changes.
“It is also anticipated that advances in healthcare technology being rolled out in the coming months and years will greatly assist with this. Cardiff and Vale UHB is committed to ensuring that we deliver the highest quality of care possible, investigating when this has not happened and taking steps to avoid making any such errors in the future.
On World Sepsis Day on Friday, September 13, Dr Paul Morgan and Terence Canning from the UK Sepsis Trust will be hosting a stand in the concourse area of UHW, giving out information about sepsis and explaining the latest changes in processes.
For more information about World Sepsis Day, please go to the UK Sepsis Trust website here. For more information on all the fundraising in Rachel’s memory, please go here.