A 12-year-old girl from Nottinghamshire was left in a coma for eight days after a sore throat developed into sepsis, a life-threatening condition. Kiah Stone-Richards went to bed with what she thought was a common throat infection, but her condition rapidly deteriorated within hours.
Her mother, Hayley, found her surrounded by around 25 doctors and nurses fighting to save her life at the hospital. Kiah was placed on a life-support machine and did not regain consciousness until nearly eight days later, on Christmas Eve 2018.
Hayley, a dental receptionist from Hucknall, said she had never heard of sepsis or its symptoms. 'One minute Kiah was fine and the next minute she was hooked up to a life-support machine,' she said. 'At one point, she was surrounded by 25 doctors and nurses fighting to save her life. It was like an episode of Casualty.'
The ordeal began when Kiah came home from school in December 2018, complaining of feeling unwell. She lost her appetite and was tucked into bed. The next day, she stayed home but rapidly deteriorated. Her grandmother found her 'blue and unresponsive' hours later.
Kiah, described as 'fit and healthy' before the incident, spent eight days in intensive care before miraculously opening her eyes. Her mother recalled asking doctors if she would survive, but they could not give her an answer. 'I thought that was it – I was going to lose my little girl,' she said.
