Olamide Ogunseye, 36, from Surrey, experienced a life-threatening medical emergency after what initially seemed like minor changes to her menstrual cycle. She spent three weeks in intensive care following a ruptured ovarian cyst that triggered sepsis and a bowel obstruction.
Early Symptoms Dismissed as Stress
The first sign of trouble came three years ago when Olamide began having periods every 14 days. 'As the weeks went by, my stomach became really bloated and visibly bigger,' she said. She visited her GP, who suggested that recent stressors—a relationship breakup, a friendship breakup, and redundancy—could be throwing her cycle off.
'I had four periods in two months and knew something wasn't right,' Olamide told Metro. Despite her concerns, the GP advised monitoring the situation.
Sudden Deterioration and Emergency Surgery
By June, Olamide struggled to stand for long periods. During a work meeting, she experienced sharp abdominal pain. Believing it was severe period pain, she went home to rest. Hours later, she woke up vomiting and in agony, and drove herself to the hospital around 9:30 pm.
'By then I was vomiting bile, I filled one sick bowl to the brim and was handed a second,' she recalled. 'My blood pressure was dangerously high, my temperature was in the forties, and my blood results showed a very high white blood cell count.'
Doctors discovered a ruptured ovarian cyst that had caused sepsis, along with an internal hernia. Medics believe a weakness in her abdominal wall—possibly from a previous fibroid removal—allowed part of her small intestine to move out of position and wrap around a fallopian tube, creating a bowel obstruction.
On June 9, surgeons attempted keyhole surgery but accidentally punctured her bowel, converting the procedure into major open surgery. They repaired the puncture and removed 10–15 cm of damaged small intestine.
Recovery and Emotional Impact
Olamide remained in hospital for three weeks. 'This happened so suddenly and so severely that there was no time to process it,' she said. 'Waking up to the reality of where I was and what had actually happened, I was emotional and utterly shocked.'
The emotional toll was significant. 'The first two weeks I cried every single day, but these tears were coming from a different place. I felt so vulnerable.' Walking the length of a six-bed bay took about 30 minutes, and she had to sleep on her back for at least 18 months after surgery.
She took three months off work and attended follow-up appointments for 18 months. She has now made a full recovery. 'I remember hugging the banister as I walked through the front door; just being home felt like a milestone.'
Urgent Call for Women's Health Awareness
According to The UK Sepsis Trust, 245,000 people in the UK are affected by sepsis each year. Olamide stressed that symptoms can escalate rapidly. 'From the second time my period came within 14 days to the night I ended up in ICU was roughly two months.'
She urged women to advocate for themselves: 'I want women to know to push for answers and not dismiss what their body is telling them.' She added, 'Countless women right now are not being heard when it comes to conditions like fibroids, endometriosis, and PCOS. Women's health deserves to be taken seriously, every single time, not just when it reaches a crisis point.'
