A mom was left fighting for her life shortly after giving birth to twins.
In April 2023, Khedidja 'Deesh' Teape welcomed her twins Zakari and Zalaysia into the world, but her motherhood journey went on to take an unexpected turn.
In the days following her twins' arrival, Deesh started to feel extremely unwell and was experiencing symptoms like loss of appetite, fever, and diarrhea.
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After being ill for five days, Deesh decided to seek out much-needed medical attention and was ultimately placed into an induced coma for a week.
It turned out that the new mom-of-four had Strep A which led to her developing sepsis - a condition that kills as many as 11 million people globally each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Upon waking up from the coma, Deesh, from London, UK, discovered that her limbs had started to turn black.
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Then, in August 2023, she underwent life-alternating surgery that saw her have both legs and one of her hands amputated.
She claims that doctors initially dismissed her concerns when she first fell sick.
Recalling the traumatic experience on her GoFundMe page, Deesh penned: "My last memory was in ICU in the early hours of the 18th April 2023. I was told needed a procedure done ASAP.
"My heart rate was high and blood pressure was very low. I waved my family goodbye and went off to theatre, the last words I remember saying to myself was 'I got this'. I woke up thinking I had just had my procedure. My partner then began telling me how happy he was I was awake & that I had been sleeping for a whole week in a induced coma, him & my family were told to prepare for the worst.
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"I thought it was a joke he was running and then family and friends started turning up in tears, saying 'Don’t do that again, We thought were going to loose you'. I was so baffled and also drugged up and full of energy. [...] The sepsis had left lasting damage. My feet/legs hands/arm and nose were black. How did this happen? I didn’t know what was going on."
Deesh continued to write: "On the 22nd of August 2023, both my legs and my left hand were amputated and two weeks later the stumps were formed and I had a completed below the knee amputation and below the elbow amputation on my left hand and also my fingers on my right hand were removed but not the hand as its healing well.
"Adapting to this new reality has been physically, emotionally and mentally demanding but I’ve really smashed it and become resilient. Life goes on right? I also got children to raise!"
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At the time of writing, Deesh's fundraiser has received over £50,000 ($61,000) in donations.
The money raised is going towards her 'prosthetics, adaptations, and the cost of everyday life'.
If you wish to donate, you can do so here.
Niamh Shackleton