A YOUNG Westbury woman who survived sepsis is praising staff at the Royal United Hospital in Bath and using her experience to help others spot the life-threatening condition.

Amy Bulbeck, 20, of Station Road, is now recovering at home after suddenly falling ill on July 28.

She said: “I got home from my friend’s, who lives round the corner, and within minutes I started to feel ill. I was being sick, shivering and a rash had appeared all over my thighs. My mum was straight on the phone to 111. Ten minutes later the ambulance arrived.

“It was so strange. I had been feeling fine all week and then I suddenly started to feel dizzy and confused.

“This was my first ever time at hospital. Even through my school years at Matravers School I never got injured or an infection so it was scary that this was the first time.”

Sepsis is an infection that, without treatment, can lead quickly to organ failure. Currently, in the UK, 44,000 people die a year from the infection.

Amy’s mother, Diane Mould, said: “When we got to the hospital she was sent for 40 blood tests and over nine hours because it was hard to diagnose. I have never been so scared. As a mother you never want your daughter to go through that.”

The cause of Amy’s infection is still unknown. She added: “ I was diagnosed after three days in hospital. The doctors said I had reached stage two of three, any longer and my organs could have stopped working.”

She said: “The nurse told me realising it’s sepsis early can save around 14,000 lives a year. My Facebook posts have informed others and had a real reaction from people who have been thorugh something similar.”

Experts warn the signs of sepsis include slurred speech or confusion, extreme shivering or muscle pain, passing no urine and breathlessness.