‘They’d never seen someone with such a catastrophic illness’
A 15-year-old boy from Oldham, Brooke Newcombe, survived a severe case of sepsis that led to multiple amputations and organ failure. He and his mother are now raising awareness about the condition, which is often overlooked but can be life-threatening if not treated promptly. Brooke has become an advocate for sepsis awareness and organ donation after receiving a life-changing kidney transplant.
Oldham Boy Who Lost Limbs to Sepsis Becomes Campaigner After Miracle Survival
A ten-year-old boy from Oldham who lost both legs, part of his left arm and four fingers on his right hand after developing sepsis is now campaigning to raise awareness about the life-threatening condition.
Brooke Newcombe collapsed on the stairs at his family home five years ago and was initially diagnosed with flu at hospital. Within hours, his organs failed and he suffered cardiac arrest, forcing doctors to place him in an induced coma.
“Nurses told me they didn’t think Brooke was going to make it,” his mother Susan recalled. “They’d never seen someone with such a catastrophic illness.”
The sepsis - which occurs when the immune system overreacts to infection and attacks the body’s own tissue - caused Brooke’s arms and legs to turn black. His mother described him as looking “like a battered doll” as his whole body became swollen and bruised.
After surviving the initial crisis, doctors broke the devastating news that Brooke would need multiple amputations. “I was sitting there contemplating him having his legs amputated, when just a few weeks ago he’d been running around the park,” Susan said.
Now 15, Brooke spent ten months in hospital and endured eighteen months of dialysis before receiving a life-changing kidney transplant in 2021. The organ donation allowed him to return to school full-time and pursue his new mission: educating others about sepsis.
“It’s a very overlooked disease. And I think it’s very dangerous that people underestimate it,” Brooke said. “My goal is not to stop until everybody knows what sepsis is.”
The UK Sepsis Trust reports the condition affects around 240,000 people annually and claims approximately 48,000 lives. Dr Ron Daniels, founder of the trust, urged people to learn the six key symptoms: slurred speech or confusion, muscle or joint pain, passing no urine for a day, severe breathlessness, mottled or discoloured skin, and feeling like death.
“Trust your instinct,” Dr Daniels advised. “If you or someone you love is getting worse with an infection, go to 111 or make an appointment to see the GP that same day and ask: could it be sepsis?”
Brooke recently addressed Oldham Council and shares his activism on social media, determined that others won’t face what he endured. “I didn’t want everything that was happening in that hospital to be the end of my journey in life,” he said. “I was determined from that day onwards that I would get better, I would get back to my life.”
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