A grandmother is being forced to have all four limbs amputated after developing sepsis from a ‘paper cut’. Marguerite Henderson’s family were told to prepare for her death while the 54-year-old lay in an induced coma for seven days earlier this year.
However, the grandmother from Crosshill near Lochgelly, Fife, pulled through. It wasn’t until she woke up that the family found out doctors were going to have to amputate all four limbs as a result of the deadly infection. Now they have launched a fundraising campaign to raise £80,000 to give the former Fife Council support worker a bionic hand, prosthetic legs and an electric wheelchair.
Marguerite’s eldest daughter Kim Donnachie, said: ‘She noticed on February 25 that she had a tiny cut on her index finger on her right hand. ‘It was that miniscule, she doesn’t even remember how she got it. It was just a cut the size of a paper cut.
‘By the next day it looked infected so she went to the pharmacist to see if they had anything for it and they told her to get it checked by the doctor so she got an appointment for the next day.’ However, 24 hours later Marguerite felt too poorly to make the appointment and the day after that the ‘Beast from the East’ struck the UK. Kim said: ‘By lunchtime she was so unwell, she couldn’t walk, her lips were blue and she was turning grey so we rushed her into hospital.’ Marguerite and her two children Kim, 27 and Emma, 18, were told by doctors at Victoria Hospial in Kirkcaldy, Fife that she had contracted sepsis.
The next day the former nursery worker was rushed into intensive care when her organs began to fail, resulting in her being put on dialysis. Marguerite’s family were initially told she would be put in a coma for a couple of days and she would wake up better.
But as soon a she was put under, the family were taken into a room and told to prepare for the worst. Kim said: ‘As soon as she was put to sleep they told us she could die. ‘We’ve found out now that nurses were told at the time she was going to, and it was just a matter of time, but she’s been a fighter.’ Marguerite was kept in the coma for seven days. Kim said: ‘On Monday we were sat down and told it’s definite she would be having to get all her limbs amputated. ‘The amputation of her arms is scheduled for Tuesday and her legs will be a couple of weeks later.
They’re all black and bandaged up at the moment so they can dry out before surgery. ‘She used to drive and would always be on the go. She was so devastated about it all but now she is saying she knows she’s lucky to be alive. ‘She wants to make the most of her life and enjoy being a grandmother.’