A father from Wales nearly died after a toothache turned into a deadly heart infection, leaving him battling sepsis and a series of strokes. Danny Ellis, 42, from Llanrwst, initially believed the agonising pain would be cured by a trip to the dentist and some antibiotics.
However, doctors discovered a hole in his heart valve just a few weeks later. This led to surgeons having to abandon a lifesaving operation when his blood refused to clot. It is believed that the infection spread from his tooth into his bloodstream before attacking his heart's valve, causing a hole to develop in the delicate tissue.
A Toothache That Wouldn't Go Away
Danny, who co-owns a SPAR shop in Betws-y-Coed, said: "Back in April, we were having a week away and I just woke up in the middle of the night with an excruciating toothache. I took some painkillers and thought I'll call a dentist when I get back." Having previously undergone work on the tooth, the father-of-one was prescribed antibiotics from his dentist, which initially appeared to work. Back in pain the next month, an X-ray failed to reveal the cause of his discomfort.
In June, Danny began feeling ill with what seemed like flu. He said: "I'm never off ill and I just said to some of my staff I was going to have to take the rest of the week off. I really didn't feel right." His wife Ceri then spotted red marks across his arms, legs and body. These marks were believed to be Janeway lesions, a possible sign of endocarditis. Ceri booked Danny an ambulance after he spent a day sleeping on the sofa.
Diagnosis and Emergency Treatment
With doctors fearing a possible heart attack and calling for an ambulance, Danny was rushed to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, where medics monitored him and took blood tests in the ambulance for three hours before he was admitted for MRI and CT scans and X-rays. Once Danny mentioned his dental problems, doctors ordered an echocardiogram, which revealed a hole in his mitral valve. He was then diagnosed with endocarditis, an infection affecting the heart's inner lining and sometimes causing life-threatening sepsis.
Sadly, Danny was too ill to be transferred immediately to a specialist heart unit in Liverpool. Instead, he was put on a round-the-clock antibiotic drip and endured violent bouts of shaking as doctors fought to stabilise him. Danny said: "I was having episodes that were causing strong fits of shivering as if I was freezing, but I was boiling to touch. My body wanted to let go, but I was fighting it… On one particular evening, all of the nurses were emotional because they knew there was nothing more they could do. It was that close."
Surgery and Recovery
Once he was well enough, Danny was taken by critical care ambulance to Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool, where another infection left his lungs filling with fluid. On July 6, surgeons attempted to repair his heart valve, but had to stop when his blood failed to clot. "I thought the operation went well, but then I was told they had to abort it because my blood was not clotting. That's when I thought it was impossible and I didn't have the strength," he said.
Danny had the surgery performed successfully just two days later. His happiness was short-lived as he discovered he had suffered multiple strokes during his illness, being barely able to walk, struggling to use his left side and fearing his memory had been damaged. When he was asked the date, Danny told staff it was March 5, 2005. After undergoing rehabilitation back in Bangor, he was finally discharged on August 19.
Danny is now recovering at home but is still regaining his strength, with the effects of the strokes leaving him unable to do everyday things including picking up his daughter. He noted that his mission to get home to daughter Harriet Ann, nine, kept him going. He explained: "The envy of seeing other people being able to hold her and walk with her was terrible. I couldn't do that. To this day, I still can't pick her up because I haven't fully got my core strength back. My dentist told me that he now used my story as an example to patients, so that they take infections seriously."
