WHEN Lynne Polselli lost her arms and legs to sepsis, there was one special friend she could rely on.
Helping her through it all was Pam Buschle, and she had a good reason to understand exactly what Lynne was going through.
Pam, 64, had also lost her arms and legs in exactly the same circumstances after also developing the killer condition.
After being in a coma, she woke up and found her limbs missing – after doctors had to amputate them to save her life.
Lynne, 52, who lives in Michigan, USA, with husband Lou, 63, says: “Having Pam by my side was the best medicine I could have asked for.
“It was a shock to lose all my limbs like this – I never expected it when I was taken into hospital, but it was the only way to save my life.
“And having Pam there for me has been a lifesaver – I couldn’t have got through it all without her.
“When you lose your arms and legs, there is so much that you can’t do, and Pam has helped me adapt and learn to do things differently.”
Lynne started feeling ill in May this year, and initially thought it was a kidney infection.
She says: “I woke up one morning feeling incredibly exhausted.
“I’d been out with friends the night before and it had been very cold, so initially I thought it was that.
“But by the evening, I couldn’t get out of bed and Lou called an ambulance.
“I felt a little better by the time I got to the hospital and the doctors put a stent in one of my kidneys as they thought I had a blockage from a kidney stone.”
But the next morning, Lynne’s temperature had soared and her internal organs started shutting down.
She was put on a ventilator and her family were told to come and see her, as the doctors didn’t know if she was going to make it.
“It was so scary for Lou,” recalls Lynne.
“I don’t remember any of it. My organs were shutting down, and doctors had to divert blood from my extremities to the organs to try and keep them working.”
The treatment worked, and Lynne awoke from her coma, but her hands and feet had turned black because of the lack of blood to them.
“I remember looking down and seeing my hands, they were black and yet I’d recently had a manicure so they had perfect bright pink nail polish on,” says Lynne.
“It looked so strange. Initially they thought they could save my feet, but eventually they told me they needed to amputate all four limbs.
“It was a shock, but the main thing was I was still alive.”
I looked down and realised I didn’t have my hands
Pam Buschle
Doctors carried out the amputations, and her family recalled that the previous year they had been to a family wedding of Lynne’s niece, and one of the guests had been Pam, who coincidentally was also a quadruple amputee.
She had lost her arms and legs to sepsis too, and had been at the family wedding.
Lynne says: “My niece’s husband grew up with Pam’s son, so she came to the wedding, although we didn’t talk at the wedding as we didn’t know each other previously.
“But I remember seeing her dancing and thinking how amazing she was.”
Pam was happy to help Lynne, and came to visit her in hospital as she recovered.
Pam, 64, who lives with husband Marty, 66, also in Michigan, had developed sepsis after a routine hysterectomy operation in December 2013.
Pam, a retired school social worker, says: “I felt so ill after coming home from the surgery that Marty took me back to hospital and shortly after I arrived, I fell unconscious.
“My vital organs were shutting down and the doctors diverted blood flow to my organs, which risks limb loss.
“I was in a coma and when I woke up, I looked down and realised I didn’t have my hands.
“I was confused as I didn’t know what had happened. I kept asking where my hands and feet were.
“My dad and Marty had to explain to me that they had been amputated during treatment to save my life.
“When I heard what Lynne was going through, I wanted to help her.
“I organised for her to attend a rehabilitation hospital called the Mary Free Bed, who were fantastic with me.
“They fitted me with prosthetics and gave me hours of physio and occupational therapy to teach me how to live my life again, and I wanted that for Lynne too.”
So with Pam’s help, Lynne was transferred to the hospital and began her rehab.
She says: “Pam visited me every other week, and has really helped me through it all.
“She has taught me things like how to do my hair and put my make-up on, and she taught me how to get out of bed in in the morning on my own, and onto my legs.
“Because she has been through it too, she knows the best ways of doing things, which has been the best help I could ask for.”
Source: Stop Sepsis Save Lives
Pam, who fundraises for the Mary Free Bed Hospital, adds: “We want people to know that when you lose multiple limbs like Lynne and I have done, it isn’t the end of your life.
“Lynne and I have a friendship that will last forever.
“We go for dinner every fortnight together with our husbands, and we have such a special bond between us.”
Lynne adds: “Pam is such a tower of strength to me.
“She’s been a wonderful friend and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.”
SEPSIS is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that happens when your immune system overreacts and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
Symptoms of sepsis in an adult include:
Symptoms in a child include:
They may not have all these symptoms.
If you think you or someone else has symptoms of sepsis, call 999 or go to A&E.
Source: NHS
