A MUM was left “minutes away from death” and had to learn to walk again after her chest pains turned out to be a flesh-eating bug ravaging her pancreas.
Sam Lewis 38, had visited the doctors three times with a pain in her chest before doctors found a gallstone blocking her bile duct.
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After being hospitalised, Sam’s health quickly declined and she was diagnosed with pancreatitis.
Necrotising fasciitis, also known as a flesh-eating disease, then developed.
The mum-of-three spent six months in hospital and had to have half her pancreas cut away to save her life.
She now has to eat a strict low fat carb diet to avoid inflammation in her pancreas, meaning she can no longer have one her favourites, a fry up.
Read more on flesh eating bugs
Sam, a children’s entertainer, from Bournemouth, Dorset, said: “At one point I was minutes away from death.
“Pancreatitis is evil and it can take you. It’s a hard pill to swallow.”
Sam first started getting chest pains in 2021 while getting her children ready for the school run.
She went to hospital but was told she had costochondritis – an inflammation of the breastbone – and sent home with painkillers.
Sam got a similar pain again in March 2022 but after going to the doctors she claims her symptoms were “shrugged off” as long Covid.
But later that month the pain returned, so Sam went to hospital and was taken for a CT scan, which revealed a gallstone blocking her bile duct.
This had caused pancreatitis – a condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed.
Sam said: “They said, ‘We believe you have acute pancreatitis. We’re going to put you on a low fat diet and you’ll be fine.'”
But things suddenly took a turn for the worst.
She said: “It went from acute to necrotising overnight. My whole body swelled up.
“My gallstone was attacking my pancreas.
“I looked so swollen, I looked like I was eight months pregnant.
It was just so scary.
Sam Lewis
“I couldn’t move my ankles.”
Sam was taken to intensive care and her family were told that she might not make it through.
She said: “My family came in. It was heart-wrenching. I couldn’t breathe properly.
“It was just so scary.”
Miraculously Sam pulled through, but after two months in Bournemouth Hospital she developed sepsis and had to be rushed to Southampton Hospital.
She said: “They didn’t think I would make it through the night.”
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Doctors made the decision to put Sam in an induced coma and operated to remove the dead tissue and half of her pancreas.
A few days later Sam woke up with a drainage bag hanging out of her, on a nasogastric (NG) feeding tube and couldn’t walk.
She was in Southampton Hospital for a month before spending a month back in Bournemouth Hospital. She was able to head home in August 2022.
The road to recovery
Sam has been left with chronic pancreatitis – where the pancreas becomes permanently damaged from inflammation.
It means Sam now has a very strict diet and can’t have some of her favourite foods such as a fry up and pastries.
She has to stick to a low fat carb diet as food can flare up her condition and leave her in hospital.
Sam said: “It’s something I have to live with. I used to love my food. I used to love going out. Now I refrain from going anywhere in case I get a flare up.
“I can’t even have crisps, chocolate, fish and chips. I can’t have fast food.
“I can’t even pop to the bakery.”
It took her a year to get back walking properly and Sam still hasn’t been able to go back to work.
She’s hoping she can “indulge” a little this Christmas – but worries she’ll end up in hospital with an inflammation flare up.
She said: “This year I’m really excited for Christmas.
“I’m ready to really enjoy it.”
Symptoms of acute pancreatitis
ACUTE pancreatitis is a condition where the pancreas becomes inflamed over a short period of time.
The main symptom is severe pain that develops suddenly in the centre of the tummy.
The pain can get steadily worse and travel along your back.
Other symptoms include:
- feeling or being sick (vomiting)
- indigestion
- a high temperature of 38C or more (fever)
- yellowing of the whites of the eyes, and yellowing of the skin although this may be less obvious on brown or black skin (jaundice)
- tenderness or swelling of the tummy
- fast heartbeat (tachycardia) or rapid breathing
Eating or drinking can make you feel worse very quickly, especially if you eat fatty foods.
Acute pancreatitis caused by gallstones usually develops after eating a large meal.
If you suddenly develop severe pain in your tummy, see a GP immediately.
If this isn’t possible, you can call 111.
Source: NHS
