Made In Chelsea star Sam Vanderpump nearly died after suffering liver and kidney failure due to sepsis.
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00:00To be clear, the doctors have told you, if you'd arrived at hospital 24 hours later, you would not be sitting here.
00:07So this is important, obviously, for you. You're doing better now, but also for everybody at home.
00:13What were the signs of sepsis that you missed at the beginning that are so important for us all to understand?
00:21So dehydration was the biggest thing, to the point where my lips had become so dry that they were pretty much crusty.
00:28The fact that I had this back pain that just was not disappearing, breathlessness and a high fever.
00:35The biggest signs I can say, which I've now had since on reinfection, which alerted me to it very quickly before it turned septic, was the high temperature.
00:45So, I mean, my girlfriend and fiancé now got an infection recently where she's got a high temperature and I'm rushing her to, you know, go see a doctor because I just wanted to get it treated.
00:55But I think, you know, the normal signs of infection, just making sure they don't get out of control, making sure you get seen to your GP and if you do have any doubt, really getting into A&E as quick as possible.
01:04You know, one of the things here is that, as you'll probably be aware, there's been instances where parents, and there's been a report today that parents should be listened to when it comes to their kids and ourselves as well,
01:15that doctors, like in your case, didn't know what was going on, so you get discharged.
01:19What you did was have the muscle, the elbow, and some might say the privilege to say, hang on, I want to see a doctor now.
01:27Now, if you are worried about this, what should you do?
01:29What should you say to your doctor, do you think?
01:31You just ask the simple question, could this be sepsis?
01:34If it's not being explained and you have symptoms which align with what we're saying here today or what you see on the website, just ask the simple question, could this be sepsis to your doctor?
01:44Have we done the blood work to see that?
01:46Yeah.
01:47It's a simple question which could save your life.
01:49Because in a way, you're sort of planting the seed in their mind, and once they're on it, they'll be like, let's just make sure it's not that.
01:54Exactly.
01:55You know, that is absolutely true.
01:56It's interesting, you know, when I had my appendix ruptured a few weeks ago, about three weeks ago, the thing that made me call 111, so I've been writhing around all day, straight after work, it was 8 o'clock at night and I thought, just check it's not bowel cancer.
02:07And I don't know, it's because Lorraine's team had been doing a bowel cancer thing, so raising awareness genuinely works in the moment when you're in pain.
02:12You go, what could it be?
02:14And so just planting a seed in the mind of someone on 111.
02:17I told you it was nothing, I think, at first.
02:18Yeah, it was...
02:19Your point is to push back, know the symptoms, and don't be deterred, unless you're absolutely sure the test has actually been done.
02:29That's your point, isn't it?
02:30For sure, yeah, 100%, because, you know, there's absolutely no loss in just asking that question, and if it can save your life, potentially, by asking the right questions.
02:40And, you know, you've got to feel sorry for the doctors, they've got a huge spectrum of things that could be going wrong with you.
02:46So, if you're asking the right questions to help trigger certain thoughts, which could potentially save your life, then...
02:51And you want the public to be educated on precisely what the symptoms and the early warning signs of sepsis might be.