Nicole Reilly - a determined 23-year-old sepsis survivor - has set herself the task of completing the Parish Walk for the first time to raise as much as possible for Mannin Sepsis. Reporter Jess Ward went to meet her.

Sepsis survivor and mum-of-one Nicole Reilly has set her sights on completing the Parish Walk at her first attempt.

Her inspiration to take on the gruelling walk in aid of Mannin Sepsis is fuelled by her own experience of suffering the potentially life-threatening condition when she was 20.

She is both excited and nervous about the challenge.

’There’s a lot of pressure,’ she said. ’I put pressure on myself so I can achieve more.’

Nicole, who is a customer service administrator at Capital International Group, explained: ’It all started in July 2016.

’I found a lump in my right breast but I never thought much of it as I was only 20 at the time.

’Eventually I went to the doctors and they prescribed me medication. Within the week it didn’t move.

’I then had to go to hospital. They drained it for me three times. On the third time after draining the abscess I got an infection in the blood.

’It was in the morning that they had drained the abscess and by 1pm in the afternoon it looked like I had a boob job on my right breast - it was very big.’

She called the doctor who realised she had sepsis.

’It was all around my body. I had to get morphine,’ she said.

’I then had open surgery which I had to stay awake for.

’There was an open incision on my right breast just on top of the nipple and the surgery lasted for 45 minutes because there was so much [of the abscess] in there.

’I was then hospitalised for more than two months because they had burst the abscess.’

Nicole tells me she doesn’t remember much as she slept a lot through her recovery.

’I was so drugged up,’ she said.

’My body was reacting to the medication but my body and mind weren’t reacting together.’

She called it a ’very scary’ time in her life.

’I was in a lot of pain and kept getting these sharp pains,’ she said.

Nicole explained that the sharp pains were similar, if not worse, to the pain you feel when being pinched on the undersides of your upper arms.

’I’ve now got a bruise around my breast and a scar from the incision.

’I’ve come out with battle wounds, but I’ve come back stronger,’ she said.

’I had never heard of sepsis before and never knew it was so serious until after I left hospital and read up on it.

’I was living on my own and my partner, Gareth Jones, was amazing as he would come over and look after me every night. He was brilliant.’

Sepsis is defined as a ’serious complication of an infection’, by the NHS, which can lead to organ failure and death if not treated quickly.

Symptoms in adults are: a high temperature or a low body temperature; problems with breathing; chills and shivering; a rapid heartbeat or feeling different from your normal self.

More severe cases of septic shock can lead to dizziness; confusion, diarrhoea; nausea and vomiting; slurred speech; severe muscle pain; severe breathlessness; skin that is cold, clammy, pale or mottled; loss of consciousness or not urinating for a day.

According to Sepsis Trust UK, five people are killed by sepsis every hour in the UK.

The condition affects about 25,000 children in the UK every year with 52,000 people losing their lives to sepsis per annum.

Nicole is one of the lucky ones who says she has had no issues since the health scare.

’I had the option to do more work on the abscess in Liverpool, but because I was scarred from what had happened over here I didn’t want anyone to touch it, but to let my body heal itself,’ she said.

Following on from her life-threatening position, Nicole soon brought life into the world by giving birth to her son Ellis.

’I nearly died and a few months later I was pregnant, so I was concentrating on that,’ she said.

’He was born on his dad’s birthday so it was a birthday present for Gareth.’

Now she is eager to help others who have been affected by the condition by fundraising for Mannin Sepsis.

’It would be brilliant to give Mannin Sepsis something,’ she said.

The Manx charity was set up by John and Dee Struthers whose daughter Ann tragically lost her life due to sepsis at the age of 18.

Its mission is to increase the public’s understanding of the illness to help them spot the signs as soon as possible.

Basing their statistics on the UK figures, the charity believes that about 200 people in the Isle of Man die from sepsis every year.

It aims to have all funds raised in the island to stay here.

Nicole has already surpassed her target of raising £350 towards the charity.

She hopes to help continue support for the emotional, physical and mental stress that sepsis can cause to people, but in particular those who are living on their own.

’If I was living on my own and had no partner I would have felt very lonely.

’It would be very upsetting for a person to go through that on their own,’ Nicole continued.

In preparation for the Parish Walk, she has been regularly walking with friends but recently cut down on this to do a five-week training course which she described as ’a bit of a boot camp’.

The 85-mile trek stretches from the NSC in Douglas to Santon, Rushen, Peel, Jurby, Maughold and back to the island’s capital again, ending on the promenade.

Those who take part on June 22 will have 24 hours to cover the miles.

’Fingers crossed!’ she laughed.

For more information on her fundraising efforts, visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/nicole-reilly-mannin-sepsis

Search: www.manninsepsis.com, for details on the charity