Teacher has both legs amputated after coming down with 'flu-like symptoms'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A teacher has had her legs amputated and is due to lose most of her fingers weeks after after coming down with flu-like symptoms.Julianna Bransden, 44, is a primary school teacher from Narberth, Pembrokeshire, and says she first started feeling ill last Christmas.

The mum's condition deteriorated and by New Year's Eve she was "stuck in bed," reports Wales Online. Julianna's husband Tim said she "could not lift her head of the pillow" and wasn't well enough to even check her phone or get in the car.He called 111 for advice and it was advised that his wife should continue to rest, but his decision to call an ambulance saved her life.

Her sister Jac Burgess, who lives in Lancashire, says Julianna's heart stopped twice in half an hour. Soon after the mum arrived at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest doctors informed the family she had sepsis and required a ventilator.

They also discovered Julianna had influenza, invasive Strep A, and aggressive pneumonia and warned that she might not make it through the night.Since then she has spent 66 days in ICU for septic shock and organ failure.Jac said "[The nurses] all said they've never seen a patient crash that dramatically,"Julianna has received 24-hour care and full-life support as she battled for her life over several weeks.She experienced severe damage to her hands and feet and has had to have both her legs removed below the knee and will lose most of her fingers.She will require a wheelchair when she returns to her home in Narberth and her family has started fundraising to cover the costs.Jualianna's house will also have to be adapted and she is aiming to get prosthetics in the future.Jac said: "We were just desperately praying that she would just survive....We're now very