A MATRON at an Oxford hospital has spoken about her young daughter’s brush with death after contracting sepsis.

John Radcliffe matron for Neurosciences Lucy Parsons is hoping her experience may highlight the importance of parents spotting sepsis at an early stage which ultimately saved her daughter Lola’s life.

She said: “You may feel instinctively that something is seriously wrong with your child.

“Seek medical advice immediately – don’t wait, and be persistent.

“What struck me was the fast, dramatic deterioration of her condition; but then how the right treatment with antibiotic therapy saved her life.”

The complication, which arises when the body’s own defence against an infection begins to damage its own tissues and organs, affects over 250,000 people in the UK every year and more than 44,000 people die annually as a result.

Mrs Parson recounted how one day in 2014 said she found then six-year-old Lola curled up on the floor when she went to pick her up from school.

She was feverish and had a rash like sunburn on her back.

Mrs Parsons contacted her GP at 4.30pm and they were seen an hour later.

The GP noticed some localised bruising, suspected meningitis and immediately sent her to the John Radcliffe Hospital’s Emergency Department.

By this time it was 7pm and Lola was so drowsy she needed to be carried through the door.

Mrs Parsons said: “I carried her in and immediately the team began caring for her. I recall a consultant saying they were doing ‘all they could’. It was a terrifying and lonely night as I sat beside Lola while they were trying to find out what was making her so ill."

Lola was eventually diagnosed with septic shock.

Both Mrs Parsons and Lola know they were lucky – Lola survived her ordeal following three days in intensive care, and is now a healthy ten-year-old.

Mrs Parsons says she is now passionate about raising awareness of the condition that nearly killed her daughter, and teaching both parents and school staff to think of sepsis as a possibility when a child is unwell.

To further raise funds for the UK Sepsis Trust and highlight the condition, Mrs Parsons is expecting to complete a gruelling charity walk along the Great Wall of China.

Among the issues that Mrs Parson is hoping to highlight is the fact that sepsis is frequently under-diagnosed at an early stage when it is still potentially reversible.

Early diagnosis can reduce sepsis mortality by as much 50 per cent.

Sepsis can affect old or young, well or with existing illnesses.

To support Mrs Parsons' fundraising trek visit justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-parsons14