This Sunday’s game vs Billericay Town WFC is the second of our two annual charity matches. We will be supporting the family of Rachel Day a beautiful healthy fit vibrant 29-year-old.
Their mission is to raise awareness of SEPSIS in Wales. Sepsis is a rare but serious complication of an infection. The UK Sepsis Trust reports that around 48,000 deaths are attributed to Sepsis annually in the UK from this “Silent Killer” which is more than then breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined. Sepsis does not discriminate; it can affect anyone of us at any time and at any age. Rachel’s death like millions of others could be preventable with timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Rachel’s family and friends known as #RachelsArmy set up “Rachel’s Day Awareness Events & Information” and have been fundraising tirelessly since her death from Sepsis 7th June 2017. Their significant and crucial contribution has funded campaign’s in raising awareness of Sepsis and has saved many lives. They work in partnership with the UK Sepsis Trust Head of Regional Engagement Wales, Terence Canning. Rachel went from being a beautiful, healthy, fit, vibrant 29-year-old to fighting a heroic battle for her life in just 24 hours after the photo of her below was taken.
Rachel went to the Heath Hospital A&E dept. at 4.30am on Monday 29th May 2017, a public bank holiday and she had all the classic signs of Sepsis but was sent home with paracetamol and told to rest. She went into a Septic shock state, her blood pressure dropped to a dangerously low level and when found by her Mum Bernie she was screaming in pain. She spent the next 10 days of her life on ICU at the Heath Hospital fighting for her life.
Sepsis had caused blood clots in her vital organs, her brain, heart, lungs and kidneys and in her arms leg’s fingers and toes. On the eighth day in an effort to save Rachel’s life, her family had to make the horrendous decision to amputate Rachel’s two legs and her left arm and when she returned from surgery, they had had to amputate Rachel’s right arm due to tissue death (gangrene). Rachel after a heroic 10-day fight on ICU, Heath Hospital against Sepsis tragically lost her battle and died from multiple organ failure. This is a brief synopsis of Rachel’s story but if you click the link below you can read and listen to Rachel’s heartbreaking story in full which was aired on BBC Wales on World Sepsis Day 2017 and learn the symptoms of Sepsis.
