A father of two lost both legs after a small cut on his hand from a machine at work developed into life-threatening sepsis.
Darren Spence accidentally cut his hand on a machine used to crush cardboard while working at B&M’s warehouse in Ashington, Northumberland.
A week later, the 45-year-old began to feel extremely ill. He visited the emergency department of Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital in Cramlington and was rushed to Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for emergency treatment.
Spence was found to have developed sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to infection, and was placed in an artificial coma.
Three days later, he awoke to find that his legs had turned black and that he had lost feeling in them. About a month later, both legs had to be amputated below the knee.
Mr. Spence, father of Sam, eight, and Jacob, one, said, “I’m thankful to be alive. I knew what sepsis was, but I didn’t know the symptoms. It was a shock that it could happen from a cut. Everyone I’ve told is shocked.”
Darren Spence, 45, (pictured with sister Leanne Charlton) had both legs amputated after a small cut on his hand developed into sepsis
Mr Spence cut his hand on a machine at work and a week later woke up with a terrible feeling
The 45-year-old said doctors hoped they could save his legs, but knew by the color he would lose them
The father of two worked as a warehouse supervisor for the Ashington store, where his partner Aimee Dunning, 26, also works as a cashier.
He said he cut his right hand in April of this year while working and stopped thinking about it.
Mr Spence said: ‘It all started with a cut on my hand, it was a total accident.
“About a week later, I woke up with a terrible feeling. I started vomiting, I was in pain and I had diarrhea. I felt like my heart would jump out of my chest.
“At first I felt like I could handle it. The next day I came down and said “Aimee, I think I need to go to the hospital” – I couldn’t get the word hospital out. At that moment I thought I was having a stroke.’
Spence said he got “worse and worse” as he waited with Aimee in the hospital waiting room. He said: ‘My partner made sure that her mother and father took care of our youngest son and we went on to the hospital.
The father of two is currently wheelchair-bound after losing both of his legs, but this week he received his new prosthetic legs and said he can’t wait to play football with his kids
Mr Spence was placed in an artificial coma after being rushed to Freeman Hospital
He woke up three days later to find that his legs had turned black and he had lost the feeling in them
“At one point I was in the toilets because I had no strength left. Someone came in and asked if I needed help. I told my partner I couldn’t feel my feet, it felt like pins and needles.’
Mr Spence said he was pre-evaluated during the triage before being told to be transferred to Freeman Hospital. He said he remembers being placed in the ambulance but can’t remember anything else until he woke up in intensive care.
He said, ‘I didn’t know where I was, it was very strange. When they told me I’d had sepsis, I thought wow. I had my legs for about a month – I think the doctors thought they could save them.
“In my own head I knew I was going to lose them, so I prepared a little bit. I could tell by the color of it and the lack of feel. I started not to feel them at all anymore.’
Mr Spence said he was shocked to find that sepsis can be caused by such a small cut
He has decided to release pictures of his legs because he wants other people to be aware of sepsis and the damage it can cause
About four weeks later, Mr. Spence had surgery to remove one leg below the knee, followed by the second one a week later. He came home from hospital in June and has had to adjust to his wheelchair in recent months.
The 45-year-old has now returned to work at B&M and received his new prosthetic leg earlier this week. He said: ‘I want to move on with my life and play football with the little one.
‘I look at life differently. I feel very lucky to have survived something like this, which is why I took it as good as I did.
“Since I’ve been back to work, everyone says I’m happier now than with my legs. I feel more confident in myself for some reason. A lot of people thought I would be more self-conscious about it.
“A few people came up to me and said, ‘Do you work here?’ If I say “yes,” they said “good for your son.”
Mr Spence has decided to release photos of his legs because he wants other people to be aware of sepsis and the damage it can cause. He said, ‘Looking at my legs makes me feel a little upset, but life goes on.
“Sometimes I get a little upset, but I just turn myself around and tell you to shake your head — it could have been a lot worse.”
His sister Leanne Charlton, 40, from Ashington, has set up a Go Fund Me page to help Darren get mobile again and regain his independence. She has raised over £1,400 in donations to date.
Mrs. Charlton, the mother of Keira, 17, and Alfie, 10, visited her brother in the hospital with Aimee. She said the hospital called at one point to tell them to come right away so they could say goodbye to him as his health had deteriorated.
The mother of two, who works as a catering assistant at Wansbeck General Hospital in her hometown, said: ‘Sepsis had affected all his organs. As the day went on he got a little bit better and they took him out of the coma.
“His legs were too damaged, they were black and he couldn’t do much. He had to have both legs removed because of a small cut. It has brought him out to be a different person. He sees life in a very different way.’
Spence would like to thank the staff at Freeman Hospital, who he describes as “absolutely brilliant,” as well as his family and partner Aimee. He added: ‘I want to thank my partner for always being there, she never missed a single visit and she hasn’t slept upstairs since. She slept next to me on the couch.
“It really shocked me how much people care about the community, it makes me very proud. I just hope to make some adjustments to the house to make it easier.’