A woman has shared the harrowing experience of losing several fingers and toes to septic shock, just days after being sent home from hospital for a “small” kidney stone.
In July 2022, 48-year-old Louise Marshallsay from Swansea visited hospital with severe side pain, similar to a kidney stone she had removed surgically three years earlier. Doctors diagnosed another kidney stone and sent her home, advising her to wait for it to pass naturally.
That evening, Louise fell in and out of consciousness, and within hours her hands and feet turned black and purple. She was rushed back to hospital but collapsed upon arrival. When she woke, she learned four days had passed, and she had suffered septic shock—a life-threatening infection that can cause organ failure.
To save her vital organs, doctors had to restrict blood flow, causing tissue in her extremities to die. Two weeks later, she was informed that the fingers and toes on the right side of her body needed amputation. Louise described watching the procedure while awake as “like something from a horror movie.”
Over six weeks in hospital, remaining fingers and toes were also amputated after doctors determined they would not recover. The ordeal left her unable to walk or care for herself, and she was discharged under her parents’ care.
Louise has since been fitted with prosthetic fingers, modeled using photos and measurements since no real fingers remained. She described the prosthetics as almost identical to her original hands, complete with blue vein streaks and knuckle creases.
Now, Louise is adapting to her “new normal” and has even found love by sharing her story. She remains grateful to be alive.
Sepsis causes around 52,000 deaths annually in the UK, and research shows that one per cent of survivors require amputation of a limb.
