A ROYAL Gwent Hospital nurse who lost both legs, an arm and four fingers because of sepsis is ‘overwhelmed’ by the support she has received from her colleagues.

Jayne Carpenter, 49, who had been working at the Royal Gwent Hospital since 1991, suffered from sepsis - a condition where the body's immune system goes into overdrive trying to fight an infection – at the end of April.

Shortly after Mrs Carpenter’s triple amputation, her colleagues started a Just Giving page, raising nearly £6,000.

Mrs Carpenter, who worked in the hospital's orthopaedic assessment unit, said: “We were overwhelmed by the support we have had from my colleagues.

“There were people that donated in the page that we don’t who they are.

“We can’t believe how kind people have been, it’s truly humbling.

“Their support is going to make a huge difference because we’ve many adaptations to make at home.

“For example, we’ll have to get a new vehicle that can fit an electric wheelchair, change all the grips so I can use them and raise the living room floor so it’s on the same level as the rest of the house.”

Mrs Carpenter, who lives near Merthyr, was taken to hospital on April 30.

At the time she had a cough, but she didn’t worry until she had lots of mucus and felt out of breath going up the stairs.

When taken to hospital, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. But her condition quickly deteriorated and she was taken to the intensive care unit and put on life support that night.

She said: “My family got a call at 1am saying I had been put on a ventilator and that they weren’t sure I was going to survive as all my organs were failing.”

When her limbs started to gangrene, the surgeons carried out the triple amputation to save her life. After that, Mrs Carpenter was on a ventilator and heavily sedated for nine weeks.

“I can’t recall the defining moment I became aware of what happened – my sense of reality was very distorted,” she said. “But, when I did, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was devastated.

“When you are in hospital, you are in a bit of cushion. It wasn’t until I was discharged that the severity of what I got hit us.”

Mrs Carpenter husband, Rob, said these last few months have been a rollercoaster. He said: “It all happened on the blink of an eye. One moment she had a bit of a cough, next she was on life support.

“Still now, it feels like I’m going to wake up from all this, that this is only a very bad dream.”

The couple agrees it has impacted on “absolutely everything”. Mrs Carpenter said: “Even though we have been married for 18 years, I had to ask my husband if he still wanted to be with me.

“I couldn’t shy away from it and ask him.

“Thankfully, he said that he married me because of me, not because of my limbs.”

Mrs Carpenter, who used to exercise every day, said that one of the biggest challenges for her is how her sense of body image has changed. “It’s hard when I see my reflection in the mirror,” she said. “I find it extremely difficult to go out in public because people stare at me.

“The first time we went out in public we went to M&S. I was feeling extremely anxious.

“All of a sudden, this man approached us and asked me whether I’d mind speaking to her daughter.

“I was surprised, but said yes.

“His 12-year-old daughter was born with a congenital limb deformity, meaning she had both legs amputated when she was eight months old.

“That girl was a real inspiration to me because she was telling me of her dreams. She said she wanted to be a swimmer for Great Britain’s Paralympic team.”

Mrs Carpenter, who is currently in the Rookwood hospital in Cardiff doing daily physiotherapy, tries to keep a positive attitude.

She said: “I’m still processing all this information, but I’m feeling quite strong.

“I know my life is never going to be the same and that I’ll always be disabled, but I’m grateful I’m still here.

“The end of my rehabilitation is my driving force. I’m waiting for my prosthetic limbs and an electric wheelchair – so I know I’ll have my independence back.”

Mrs Carpenter said that she’d like to go back to work one day. Because of her professional background, she thinks she'd like to work raising awareness of sepsis.

Every year, in the UK, there are 150,000 cases of sepsis, resulting in 44,000 deaths – more than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined.

She said: “Sepsis is an unknown killer. It can take away your life so quickly.

“I was put on an aggressive treatment very quickly, but it has still been extremely life-changing for me.”

Six steps of sepsis

S – Slurred speech

E – Extreme shivering or muscle pain

P – Passing no urine (in a day)

S – Severe breathlessness

I – “I feel like I might die”

S – Skin mottled or discoloured