Teenager walks with prosthetic legs after sepsis

A teenager who had a quadruple amputation after contracting sepsis has walked for the first time on his new prosthetic legs.

Hamish Wilson, from Crowborough, East Sussex, had just begun university when he fell ill in October last year.

In a call to his mother, the student said his limbs were aching. By the time she arrived the following day, he had been intubated.

Following months of treatment, the 18-year-old is keen to begin his rehabilitation.

"It feels nice to stand up and walk on two legs. I just want to go out with my friends again because that was like my favourite thing to do," he said.

Hamish has also been measured for hand gauntlets which would give him some independence to feed himself before his hands heal enough to be considered for hand prosthetics.

He added: "It'll nice to be able to eat on my own. At the moment, I'm just being fed all the time.

"I'm hoping when I get hand prosthetics I won't need anything else to eat with. They're like little wrist straps that you put on and there are slots that you can put in cutlery."

Jacqueline Wilson, Hamish's mother, said her son had set his sights on returning to university.

"That's his goal," she said.

"But it's amazing to see him up on two legs. He just looks like he's going to fly with it."

After spending some time at Southampton General Hospital, Hamish was transferred to Royal Papworth Hospital, in Cambridge, and recently to the amputee rehabilitation unit at Guy's and St Thomas' in London.

Jodie Spyrou, advanced practitioner and the clinical lead at the unit, said all patients, including Hamish, were seen two to three times a day for rehabilitation.

"We've got him up walking, and standing and checking the alignment," she said. "And that the fit of the prosthesis is okay.

"He's doing so well."

She said the unit offered breakfast and lunch groups to allow patients to practice preparing and cooking food, as well as a rehab garden for outdoor mobility practice.

• Sepsis is known as the "hidden killer" because it can be so hard to detect.
• It is caused by the immune system going into overdrive. Instead of just fighting an infection, it starts attacking other parts of the body too.
• Ultimately it causes organ failure. Even survivors can be left with long-term damage and disability.
• Bacteria and viruses that cause diarrhoeal infections or lung diseases are the leading triggers of sepsis.
• The symptoms include loss of consciousness, severe breathlessness, a high temperature, slurred speech, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea and severe muscle pain.

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