Coronation Street’s Sue Cleaver almost died from sepsis she thought was the flu
Coronation Street actress Sue Cleaver has opened up about her life-threatening experience with sepsis earlier this year.
The Eileen Grimshaw star, 56, appeared on This Morning to recount what happened and also urged the public to be aware of the signs.
As an IBS sufferer, Sue thought she was experiencing a flare up before she started to come down with flu like symptoms while at work.
'We kind of put up and get on with things, and that's a big mistake' says @Sue_Cleaver, who contracted sepsis. pic.twitter.com/feEN7xYdVC
— This Morning (@thismorning) September 13, 2019
“It was on the hottest day of the year and I was on set with a hot water bottle, shaking,” she told Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes.
“I was in pain and freezing cold,” she said and a colleague pointed out that her feet were blue and purple.
However, Sue was convinced she was coming down with the flu and went home to sleep and take ibuprofen. But when her husband came home, he rang their daughter-in-law who is a paramedic who insisted she go to hospital.
She was admitted to hospital with a temperature of 39.9 oC but still didn’t know she had sepsis until the next day.
It turned out she had a kidney infection that led to the sepsis.
Dr Rang Singh was on the show too and he explained that sepsis, previously referred to as blood poisoning or septicaemia, is “an overwhelming response to any infection” that kills over 50,ooo people a year.
He outlined the signs to look out for:
Slurred speech or confusion
Extreme shivering or muscle pain
Passing little or no urine
Severe breathlessness
It feels like you’re going to die/impending death
Skin is mottled or discoloured
Sue urged viewers to listen to their bodies if they’re feeling ill.
“The biggest lesson for me is we stride on through life and just get on with things and that’s a big mistake.
“All I wanted to do was sleep and if my husband hadn’t come home, what could have happened?”
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