https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10186315/Nurse-53-hanged-husband-inquest-hears.htmlSuper fit nurse, 53, who lost three limbs when a cough turned to sepsis hanged herself 'after being stripped of everything she loved overnight', as inquest hears how devastated husband found her body after she sent him to pick up family dog
Jayne Carpenter, 53, lost both her legs and an arm when she developed sepsis after a cough in 2016
The hospital nurse then began fundraising to get pioneering limb surgery not available on the NHS
Her husband Rob Carpenter arrived at their house in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, and found her hanged
By Bhvishya Patel For Mailonline
Published: 11:21, 10 November 2021 | Updated: 12:55, 10 November 2021
She also vowed to battle on by fundraising to get pioneering limb surgery not available on the NHS and raised more than £20,000 of her £265,000 target. An inquest heard on the day Jayne's death, on December 7, 2020, her husband of 22 years Robert, 56, got a call from her asking him to pick up their dog. But when he arrived at their house in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, he found her hanged. The nurse, who suffered from depression and chronic pain, had twice taken an overdose and the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic stopped her from enjoying the things that were important to her. On the day she died, tests showed she had drunk 'a large quantity of alcohol' but police did not find a note stating her intention to take her own life. In a moving post shared on social media last year husband Robert said: 'She was in constant pain and knew she would never get better. Covid was the tipping point, she was very down because she couldn't dance and socialise and do the things that kept her going.'
The heartbroken husband also described the hospital nurse as 'an amazing person' and said: 'The brightest star in my sky has burnt out.'
He said the nurse has offered him the chance to walk away but he told her: 'I married you not for your arms or legs but because I love you'
In a witness statement read out at Merthyr Tydfil Coroner's Court last year, Robert went on to describe his wife as a 'happy, bubbly, sociable person' who had a passion for 'travelling around the world' when they first met. In 2016, the nurse went to her doctors with a cough and what she thought was a simple cold before she quickly deteriorated and was rushed into intensive care at the Prince Charles Hospital. She diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis and put on a ventilator as her health continued to deteriorate. As gangrene set into many of her limbs doctors decided to amputate both her legs and an arm in an desperate attempt to save her life. The nurse had been in a coma for nine weeks when her husband Robert was told she needed a triple amputation with two teams of surgeons spending five hours to save her life. In 2017, Jayne said she was unable to wash, feed and walk after her ordeal and said it was 'very hard to accept'. She told Wales News: 'I could not wash, feed, walk, make myself a drink, or even sit up on my own. It was hard, very hard, to accept the new me.'
She added:'I am living proof that none of us knows what is around the corner. Life can change beyond recognition in five minutes. I'd been fiercely independent and adored my keep-fit regime and long walks on the beach with our dog Harriet.'
After her amputations, Robert said his wife 'put all her effort into regaining her life' and 'she amazed us as a family'.
He said that, as a sepsis awareness advocate, her experiences were used to 'assist the education of medical students'. But, in November 2019, he noticed 'a sudden decline' in his wife's mental health and she began drinking more alcohol, the court heard. Jayne has been hoping to get her old life back by having ground-breaking osseointegration surgery where a prosthetic limb would be attached to her remaining bone. But the surgery is not available on the NHS and only £23,000 of the £265,000 needed was raised. Jayne endured with her NHS prosthetic legs but was constantly on antibiotics for infections and strong painkillers for the nerve pain she endured. She became a national campaigner, warning others of the dangers of sepsis, and the Royal College of Nursing gave her a special achievement award which she was 'very proud of'. Assistant Coroner for South Wales Central, Dr Sarah-Jane Richards, said: 'Undoubtedly, her loss of limbs inflicted a life-changing loss to this previously healthy and active woman'.
She added that her death was 'in the context of traumatic, life-changing events having challenged her desire to live'. A coroner concluded a narrative verdict at the Merthyr inquest that Ms Carpenter 'died by self ligature in circumstances where her intention could not be discerned'.
Last year people lined the streets to say farewell to Jayne ahead of her funeral at St Tydfil's Old Parish Church in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Only 30 family and close friends were allowed at the church service due to Covid-19 regulations but it was streamed live on social media. The song Roberta Flack's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', which was Jayne and Robert's favourite song, ended the funeral service before the nurse's wicker coffin was taken to Cefn Coed cemetery for burial.
How can a cough turn into sepsis?
Sepsis, known as the silent killer, is triggered by the immune system overreacting to an infection and attacking its own organs. Any type of infection even ones that cause mild symptoms such as coughs can trigger the life-threatening condition. Researchers are still baffled as to exactly why the body sometimes turns on itself and destroys its own tissue, instead of attacking the infection. If caught early, sepsis can be controlled. But the complication is notoriously hard to spot, causing symptoms that are easily confused with flu. Without urgent treatment, it can spiral into septic shock which doctors estimate has a mortality rate of around 40 per cent. Sepsis is not contagious.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DIE FROM SEPSIS?
Almost 250,000 Britons are diagnosed with sepsis each year, and the condition kills around 48,999 people. Figures suggest 1.7million develop sepsis every year in the US, and nearly 270,000 die.
WHO IS MOST AT RISK?
Babies, over-75s, people with diabetes or other conditions that weaken their immune system, and women who have just given birth are most at risk.
IS SEPSIS THE SAME AS SEPTICAEMIA?
Sepsis is different to septicaemia, despite the two medical conditions often being confused. Septicaemia is a bacterial infection that spreads through the blood. It is one example of an infection that can trigger sepsis.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
Acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense;
Blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue;
A rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis;
Difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast.
