Cancer mum says 'my quick-thinking sister helped save my life'

Stephanie Thomson, who is fighting one of the world’s rarest forms of the disease, says the ‘instinct’ of sibling Michelle Fulton was the difference in her getting the care she needed after an infection turned to potentially deadly blood poisoning.

The mum-of-one was passing blood and felt on the verge of collapse but admits that she would have just gone to bed at home to try and rest without her sister’s ‘nagging’.

Stephanie explained: “Michelle just knew that something more serious was going on and wouldn’t let up at me to pick up the phone and get myself checked out.

“I was feeling so tired and just wanted to sleep but she made it clear that she was going to keep nagging me until I did something. Because of her I got the help I needed, or goodness knows what the outcome could have been.”

Stephanie rang the team at the Beatson in Glasgow which is providing her care and was quickly rushed into hospital for tests.

She added: “It transpired that I had a serious infection, one that quickly turned to sepsis, but because of Michelle, I had already been admitted to hospital, so the doctors could act right away.  I was given two blood transfusions and I dread to think what might have happened if I didn’t listen to her. It really is a warning to everyone that you shouldn’t ignore anything around your health.”

Stephanie, who is currently undergoing daily radiotherapy and regular chemo sessions, has praised the thorough staff who quickly spotted the issues in her blood cultures.

The 33-year-old added: “Everyone has been amazing, and I can’t thank all of the doctors and nurses enough for their wonderful care.

“A day after being admitted I was hallucinating with spiking temperatures of 38.9C. I was being woken by doctors to be cooled down and looked after by the acute nursing team as my blood pressure and heart rate was through the roof.

“I was put on strong antibiotics, which have helped massively. I’m just so lucky I came to hospital when I did – and that was down to Michelle.”

Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It happens when a person’s immune system overreacts and starts to damage the body’s own tissues and organs. If untreated, it can prove fatal, and is sometimes more commonly referred to as septicaemia or blood poisoning.

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Stephanie added: “Cancer patients obviously have a compromised immune system when going through treatment, so it is so important that people don’t ignore anything at all. In my case what started out as a headache and fatigue turned into something extremely serious.

“Thankfully because of my sister I was in the right place to receive the care I required – and I’ll always be thankful to her for that.”

We previously told how Stephanie was diagnosed with extra skeletal renal rhabdoid cancer after noticing a small pea-sized lump on her groin.

The hairdressing salon manager says staff at the Beatson have been heroes.

She added: “The team there are just superb, I can’t thank them enough for everything they have done for me.”