Mum speaks out after losing both legs and unborn baby
A Perth mum is speaking out after she lost her unborn child and both her legs while fighting an infection.
Leana Stendell woke up vomiting one morning and just hours later she was placed into a 12-day coma.
The mum of two, who was 33 weeks pregnant at the time, told 7 News she was so ill that her doctor wrote in his notes that she "wouldn't make it through the night".
Sadly, her son was delivered stillborn.
The mum was also forced to have both of her legs amputated after it was revealed she had developed sepsis from a Strep A infection.
Ms Stendell ended up spending four months in hospital and is now warning others about easily one can contract sepsis.
"I think for my family, that was traumatic because I was asleep, so I don’t have any memory of that and they are there holding that memory instead," she said, adding that she makes the choice to be "happy".
"More so now I’m just grateful and I see the happiness and joy in things and that’s where I want to be," Ms Stendell said.
Sepsis can be life-threatening and is the body's extreme response to an infection, The World Health Organisation says.
"If not recognised early and managed promptly, it can lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death," the WHO says.
Royal Perth Hospital nurse Jonathon Burcham told 7News sepsis is a "time-critical emergency".
A new nurse program at the hospital is hoping to find a way to quickly diagnose sepsis.
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