A Craigavon dad is preparing to take on a month-long virtual cycling challenge throughout Sepsis Awareness Month to raise awareness for a charity after his son, Seth survived a life-threatening case of sepsis as a baby.
Chris Potts, (46) will complete the entire challenge on the indoor cycling platform Zwift, riding from his garage every day throughout the month, and is aiming to climb a total of 48,000 virtual metres – one metre for every person who loses their life to sepsis in the UK each year.
Chris, has already raised £753.20, plus Gift Aid, in support of The UK Sepsis Trust ahead of setting off on September 1.
Riding alone, Chris expects to spend between 2.5 and three hours in the saddle each day to complete the climbing required, and anticipates he will need to ride every single day throughout September to reach his target.
The challenge holds deep personal significance for Chris and his family. In 2013, when Seth was just seven-weeks-old, Chris and his wife noticed he had become lethargic, was struggling to breathe and had developed a high temperature.
Concerned, they contacted the Out of Hours GP for an appointment. On arrival, they were sent straight to the Children’s Ward, where they were met by two doctors and two nurses. Chris credits the swift decision made by the GP that day with saving his son’s life.
Seth was diagnosed with sepsis, a condition can affect anyone at any age, but which can be higher risk for some, including babies. He remained on the ward for a week, receiving intravenous antibiotics to control the underlying infection.
Following his discharge, Seth received a further week of intravenous antibiotics, administered at home by a nurse. He was then prescribed a preventative antibiotic for an underlying medical condition, which he continued taking until he was three-years-old to reduce the risk of sepsis recurring.
Seth is now 13 and, having been closely monitored in his early years, has grown up healthy and well.
Sepsis is as common as heart attacks in the UK: nearly 80,000 people each year suffer life-changing after-effects, with 82% of sepsis survivors experiencing ‘Post-Sepsis Syndrome’ more than a year after hospital discharge, and 18% left permanently unable to work.
Chris has spent recent months building his endurance ahead of the challenge, focusing on increasing the amount of time he can spend in the saddle on back-to-back days. He has built up to six consecutive days of riding, with his longest single ride to date lasting four hours.
Chris said: “Without the awareness of sepsis shown by a GP our son would not have been seen so quickly. That immediate care saved him and with this event I’d like to do my small part to raise awareness so that unnecessary deaths can be avoided.”
Dr Ron Daniels BEM, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the UK Sepsis Trust, said: “We are incredibly moved by Chris’s dedication and by his determination to turn what could have been an unimaginably difficult experience into something so positive.
“Seth’s story is a powerful reminder that when sepsis is recognised quickly and treated promptly, families can and do get to watch their children grow up happy and healthy – and everyone affected by sepsis deserves that same standard of care. Chris’s efforts this Sepsis Awareness Month will allow us to continue our vital work, helping our health service save lives and improve outcomes for the thousands of people affected by this condition every year.”
The UK Sepsis Trust (UKST), founded in 2012 by NHS consultant Dr Ron Daniels BEM, aims to end preventable deaths and improve outcomes for sepsis survivors, striving to raise public awareness and working to support anyone affected by this devastating condition. UKST educates healthcare professionals; raises public awareness levels and lobbies for political change.
The charity’s team of trained Support Nurses help people through sepsis recovery and bereavement. UKST aims to protect people by enabling the prevention of severe infection and the treatment of sepsis, whilst also helping to ensure antibiotics are used responsibly.
Sepsis presents very differently in each patient, and can be challenging to identify. There are, however, six key symptoms you can look for, and they spell the word sepsis:
S for slurred speech or confusion
E for extreme pain in the muscles or joints
P for passing no urine in a day
S for severe breathlessness
I for “it feels like I’m going to die”
S is for skin that’s mottled, discoloured or very pale.
If you spot any one of those six signs in the context of infection, you should go straight to A&E. UKST’s Sepsis Savvy resources provide the knowledge required to seek urgent treatment at the right time.
In the UK, five people lose their lives to sepsis every hour. It is a life-threatening condition which arises when the body’s response to infection harms its own tissues and organs. It affects 245,000 people in the UK annually, claiming 48,000 lives. Sepsis can lead to shock, multiple organ failure and death if not recognised early and treated promptly.
