'When I got to hospital, my blood oxygen level was 1%'

WHEN Ketia Moponda felt unwell a few days after starting university, she put it down to fresher’s flu.

- By LEE GARRETT

It turned out to be meningitis and cost her all her fingers and both legs - and almost her life.

Ketia, 19, arrived at De Montfort University to start her marketing and advertising course last year.

Her memory is hazy due to her illness, but she told friends she felt terrible.

When family and friends could not reach her the next day, security staff and a fellow student entered her room and found her unconscious.

She was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia, which caused bacterial meningitis, which led to sepsis, and she had her fingers and legs amputated in January.

Meningococcal septicaemia can be spread through coughing and sneezing.

Ketia, from Wolverhampton, is speaking out to warn students who are starting university this month.

She said: “I have no memory of any of this but I’m lucky to be alive. When I got to hospital, my blood oxygen level was at 1 per cent.

“The blood wasn’t circulating around my body and my skin was colourless. My feet were green and swollen.