Karen Paget Walks Down Aisle After Sepsis-Induced Amputations

Karen Paget, who lost her legs and fingers due to sepsis, successfully relearned to walk with prosthetics. She achieved this milestone faster than anticipated, enabling her to walk down the aisle on her wedding day earlier this year. In 2018, while working a shift as a nurse at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, Mrs. Paget began experiencing flu-like symptoms. Her condition deteriorated three days later, leading to a diagnosis of sepsis and subsequent admission to intensive care. The NHS defines sepsis as a life-threatening condition where the body’s immune system overreacts to an infection, causing damage to its own tissues and organs. Mrs. Paget recalled, “I honestly felt like I was going to die as I felt so unwell.” She informed the BBC that after doctors discovered an infection necessitating surgery to remove a section of her bowel, her family was advised to prepare for the worst outcome. Her now-husband, Lyndon Paget, stated: “When they told me to go home and phone all the family… I realised it was very serious.” Although she survived the operation, her kidneys failed, her feet and fingers turned black, and she was informed that both her legs would require amputation. She described her condition, saying: “My fingers were completely black and hard and you could tap them on a table and it would sound like a really harsh noise. My legs were discoloured and painful and they were smelling.” In the subsequent months, Karen underwent the amputation of her legs, followed by the removal of the fingers on both hands. In February 2019, she attended Livewell Southwest’s Thornberry Centre in Plymouth, where the prosthetics and physiotherapy team assisted her in adapting to the use of new artificial limbs. While it was anticipated that Karen would take a year to learn to walk unaided, she accomplished this within nine months. Yvie Place, a physiotherapy assistant at the centre, commented: “Anything you threw at Karen, she would challenge herself. She worked very, very hard.” Mrs. Paget stated: “I’d been a nurse for 32 years when this happened. I wanted to be an independent person and with everybody’s help, I’ve achieved that.” She remains employed as a staff nurse in the colorectal cancer outpatient department at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. In May, the couple married near Tavistock, an event during which Mr. Paget recalled he “sobbed uncontrollably.” She described the occasion: “It was absolutely amazing. I got what I had wanted for a very long time. It was a very emotional day but it was very good.” “This is our 16th year that we’ve been together. We decided when we got married, we had everything we need,” she added. “The people that were important in enabling me to walk down the aisle – we decided to give something back,” she explained regarding their decision. The couple requested donations in lieu of wedding gifts and subsequently visited the centre in September to present a cheque. These funds are designated for enhancing the patient environment.