Amputee's bid to raise awareness of 'horrific' condition that nearly claimed life

LEVI SHINES LIGHT ON SEPSIS IN BID TO WARN OTHERS OF POTENTIAL DANGERS

- By SOPHIE BUSCIMESE

A YOUNG amputee and his family want to raise awareness of a life-threatening condition after his life was “turned upside down”.

Levi Dewey, from Willington, became unwell with “flu-like symptoms” in December 2022, despite being a fit and healthy 20-year-old.

Despite taking over-the-counter medications and resting for days, Levi's condition worsened, and he was taken to hospital by his parents who were concerned about his “quick and shallow” breathing.

“I don’t know if it was mum's intuition, but his breathing wasn’t right)” his mother, Lara, said.

“He was dosed up on cold and flu tablets, but he had a high temperature that wasn’t cooling, and was really drowsy, with no appetite. He just wasn’t my Levi.”

Levi was taken to the high dependency unit at Royal Derby Hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumococcal pneumonia and sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection, which occurs when a person’s immune system overreacts and begins to damage its own tissues and organs.

He was put into an induced coma and later transferred to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester to receive ECMO, a specialist treatment which temporarily takes over the function of a patient's failing heart or lungs.

It involves pumping blood outside the body through an artificial lung, where carbon dioxide is removed and oxygen is added, before the oxygenated blood is returned to the body.

It is a high-risk treatment for severe, potentially reversible heart or lung failure, which provides time for the organs to heal.