Brave nurse who lost both her legs and an arm to sepsis after a cough says she wants to travel the world
Jayne Carpenter lost three limbs to sepsis which she developed from a simple cough - but less than a year later she is making a miracle recovery
A BRAVE woman is planning an around-the-world trip despite losing both legs and an arm to sepsis.
Nurse Jayne Carpenter, 49, was hit with the infection which developed from a simple cough.
She lost three limbs - but less than a year later she is making a miracle recovery and said: "I feel so lucky to be alive."
Now Jayne and husband Rob, who have been married for 18 years, are determined to follow their globe-trotting dreams.
She said: "We didn't have children so we started to travel all over the world.
"We are both determined that my disability won't let any of this stop us travelling - Vietnam and Cambodia are next on our list.
"I want to go everywhere we can. I am looking forward taking our camper van down the beach and go for a long, long walk with our dog Harriet in the sunshine."
Her illness started as a simple cough and Jayne, despite being health professional, believed it was a simple cold.
But she collapsed with pneumonmia - and was left fighting for her life when doctors diagnosed the blood infection of sepsis.
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Jayne was put on a ventilator and heavily sedated for nine weeks during her ordeal - and husband Rob, 52, was told she needed a triple amputation with two teams of surgeons spending five hours to save her life.
She lost both legs, an arm and four fingers following her terrifying illness in April last year.
She said: "One minute I had a cough then the next I was on a life support machine.
"The doctor told Robert that I was suffering from neutropenic sepsis and said 'She will die if we don't amputate.'
"All Robert wanted to know was whether I was going to live."
Jayne, of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was critically ill for four weeks she slowly drifted back into consciousness.
She said: "I could not wash, feed, walk, make myself a drink or even sit up on my own.
"It was hard. Very hard to accept the new me."
Jayne now has prosthetic legs and is able to walk again and says she feels "lucky to be alive."
She said: "I am living proof that none of us knows what is around the corner. Life can change beyond recognition in five minutes.
"I'd been fiercely independent and adored my keep fit regime and long walks on the beach with our dog Harriet.
"Robert is my absolute rock and he has proved his love is completely unconditional. I feel so lucky to have him.
"I am determined to make the most of every single second of each day."
Rob added: "I married Jayne for who she was and I love her. I just kept telling her that she was going to walk again and that it was just going to take time.
"We're lucky to have a second chance - a lot of people who have had sepsis don't have it.
";We are looking to the future now and I am so proud how strong she has been."