Losing Limbs to Sepsis

DW (English)

Sepsis changed Georg Winterling’s life forever: both his arms and legs had to be amputated.

Transcript

00:00 A minor injury, a mere cut on his finger, led to sepsis and almost cost Georg Winterling

00:11 his life.

00:13 He lost both arms and legs.

00:14 There are days when I want to go into the woods and scream my head off.

00:18 They do happen, and happen often.

00:24 Now he just wants to get his old life back, as much of it as he can.

00:49 Let your feet make contact with the floor as much as possible.

00:52 Get yourself into a good starting position with good body tension.

00:59 Before you stand up, review all the important points in your head.

01:06 This will help you get up without using too much energy.

01:16 Operating an electric wheelchair works well.

01:18 That Georg is still alive is a small miracle. He was in an induced coma for 16 days and

01:24 underwent eight surgeries.

01:26 For months it was uncertain whether he would survive.

01:29 He now attends sessions at this clinic to train his extremely weakened body.

01:37 When I arrived here after my operation, my body was so weak and my muscles so atrophied

01:41 that I could only lift my head.

01:46 The first thing I had to do was get fit again, rebuild my body, rebuild my muscles so that

01:51 I could do basic things of everyday life again, like brushing my teeth or just getting out

01:56 of bed and into my wheelchair.

02:02 It all started so innocently.

02:08 What happened was that I cut myself on an old ear mattress in the cellar.

02:13 It was a very, very small cut on my left index finger, which became infected.

02:21 It turned into a streptococcal infection, which ultimately triggered sepsis.

02:27 You can see this small, small cut here.

02:30 And that then developed into a blister overnight.

02:35 The infection was caused by mouse droppings on the mattress.

02:39 Jun Georg was in severe pain, had a fever and shortness of breath.

02:43 Two doctors told him the infection was harmless.

02:47 Georg survived because he was finally admitted to a hospital, where he suffered septic shock.

02:52 He had to be placed in an induced coma.

02:55 During the infection, his body diverted most of his oxygen to his vital organs, the brain,

02:59 the heart and the lungs.

03:03 Because of that, large parts of both his arms and legs didn't receive enough blood.

03:09 This is what ultimately led to him needing the amputations.

03:12 It was a really serious case.

03:16 Professor Greitemann, Georg's attending physician at the rehabilitation clinic.

03:22 His major concern early on was that the residual limbs and the skin protecting them heal properly.

03:28 Only then was it possible for Georg to be fitted with prostheses.

03:34 Sepsis is one of the most common diseases worldwide, affecting around 50 million people

03:38 every year.

03:40 Most deaths could be avoided with a correct diagnosis and proper treatment.

03:48 Sepsis is a severe inflammation of the body.

03:50 It's triggered by bacteria entering the bloodstream via an injury, for example.

03:56 Sepsis occurs when the immune system overreacts, damaging the body instead of fighting the

04:01 infection.

04:02 As a result, it attacks vital organs, which start to fail.

04:05 This is exactly what makes it so dangerous.

04:11 I was completely unaware of what sepsis is and what it can lead to in the end.

04:16 I've only learned recently how bad sepsis can be.

04:22 In most cases, it leads to death because it is not recognised properly.

04:28 In that respect, I was very lucky to have survived it and to still be sitting here today.

04:35 Come on in.

04:36 The whole space just for us.

04:43 Shall we find a good place to practice standing up?

04:48 Georg's therapist, Carsten Schmidt, doesn't just give him practical tips.

04:52 He's a cheerleader too.

04:54 He knew Georg would need both psychological and physical help.

05:00 Very nice.

05:01 Well done.

05:02 I didn't help.

05:05 That worked out well.

05:06 Yes, you did that all on your own.

05:11 I think what makes him different is that he doesn't look back.

05:14 He only looks ahead.

05:16 I think he realised how things were going for him a few months ago, that he had no alternative.

05:23 My sense is he seems to have woken up, looked ahead and said, well, there's no going back

05:29 now, and there's only one way to go.

05:32 You can only go forward and not backward.

05:36 He told himself, I was lucky.

05:38 I'm still alive and can now prepare myself for a new life and live by the creed, if I

05:43 can no longer do what I want, then I have to want what I can do.

05:46 Happy?

05:47 It fits.

05:48 Feels good.

05:49 No pressure points?

05:55 No pain.

05:56 Nice.

05:57 Every step takes enormous effort, both physically and mentally.

06:01 One day Georg Winterling hopes to be able to work again.

06:05 Before the sepsis, he was a marketing team leader at a medium-sized company.

06:10 Work is a very important part of my life.

06:13 It's integral.

06:14 It was part of my old life.

06:16 It's part of my new life too.

06:18 I'm 40 years old.

06:20 I couldn't imagine just sitting at home from now on and taking early retirement.

06:23 That feels strange.

06:26 Just feels wrong.

06:27 One, two, go.

06:31 You did it.

06:35 Didn't crush your hand, did I?

06:41 No.

06:42 Standing, walking, Georg wants to reclaim as much of his old life as possible.

06:46 Despair and doubt are his constant companions.

06:52 I have many inner demons, no doubt about it.

06:56 There are days when I could just scream at the wall.

07:01 Everyone can imagine what it's like.

07:04 There are certain questions I simply shouldn't ask myself right now.

07:08 Questions like, why me?

07:10 Why not someone else?

07:12 Above all, it's the question, who's to blame?

07:19 These are the two most important questions that I try to ignore all the time because

07:23 there is no answer to them and they don't get me anywhere either.

07:29 After six months, Georg Winterling is allowed to leave the clinic.

07:33 He is happy to be back in his home in Bielefeld and tries to apply what he has learned during

07:37 his rehabilitation.

07:41 A lot is possible.

07:43 A lot is no longer possible.

07:45 A lot simply has to be planned with the help of family members.

07:49 It starts with getting lunch out of the fridge.

07:51 I have to use my wheelchair to get food and then be able to heat it up.

07:57 There's difficulties in the morning too, using toothpaste when brushing my teeth.

08:01 The toothbrush can't be too far away so that I can still reach it.

08:05 This is part of everyday life.

08:08 Some of what I had taken for granted has suddenly become an obstacle.

08:12 And some things are just impossible.

08:15 Georg Winterling doesn't give up if something doesn't work right away.

08:19 He sees it all as a set of physical challenges, something he used to seek out when he was

08:25 younger.

08:30 I grew up on skis.

08:33 I used to ski off-slope as much as possible, and I mean really off-slope.

08:40 In the backcountry, the steeper the better.

08:42 There were no limits before.

08:47 And I was also a passionate dancer.

08:50 My wife was my dance partner, of course.

08:53 I'm trying to instill this attitude into my children, but of course that will be a bit

08:56 more difficult to do in the future.

09:01 The fact that parts of his life are returning to normal is due mainly to his wife Alexandra.

09:07 She and Georg have been married for 12 years.

09:11 You learn to adapt to the situation.

09:13 It's like a movie and it didn't feel like our life.

09:16 It's only now that the four of us are back at home that everyday life has slowly crept

09:19 back in.

09:20 What's different?

09:22 Driving the kids to where they need to go in the morning by myself.

09:25 That was a task we used to share.

09:27 That I have to make sure before I leave the house that I leave Georg a coffee cup with

09:31 a straw in it, and that I wash an apple for him to eat.

09:38 She will never forget the first time she visited her husband in the hospital after his amputation

09:45 with their two children.

09:51 We came into Georg's room.

09:53 The first thing Ferdinand said was, "Dad, where are your hands?"

09:57 And I said, "I told you, remember?"

09:59 But then very soon it was just like always.

10:02 We all staged a race with the wheelchair.

10:05 Ferdinand ran alongside me.

10:07 Leopold the little one was sitting on Georg's lap.

10:09 So yes, it was just like always.

10:13 Georg and Alexandra share a coffee together in the late afternoon after she's come home

10:17 from work.

10:19 They talk about the traumatic experiences of the last few months and what has given

10:23 them strength.

10:28 It's so important to have family around you for emotional support.

10:32 My children and my wife have been such a comfort for me.

10:34 I don't think I would have had the will and the motivation to work so hard on myself for

10:38 such a long time without them.

10:43 Georg's high-tech prostheses cost thousands of euros.

10:47 They're paid for mainly by his health insurance.

10:50 Solidarity is an important principle in German society.

10:55 The healthy pay for the sick, the rich for the poor.

10:58 Everyone is entitled to the same medical treatment.

11:01 Today, orthopedist Ulf Lotzke is giving Georg a new set of prostheses.

11:06 I've got your new feet with me.

11:10 They don't feel natural or agile.

11:17 As I said, at first it feels good to get a bit more support.

11:20 It helps.

11:24 Now you don't have so much play in them anymore.

11:27 Great.

11:30 You leaned back but then adjusted all on your own.

11:37 Georg Winterling is making progress.

11:40 But he's eager for things to improve even more quickly.

11:48 Things will continue to progress.

11:50 If one approach doesn't work, there's always another.

11:53 And finding that new approach becomes the important thing to do.

11:56 The most important thing is to keep going and to keep at it.

12:02 Georg Winterling has already recaptured aspects of his former life, such as skiing.

12:08 Of course, it's different than it was back then, before his surgeries.

12:12 The way so many things are since that fateful day when he suffered what seemed like a minor

12:17 injury in the cellar.

12:25 [Music]

12:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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