health
Caitlin Allsopp was enjoying a “quiet dinner” with friends when suddenly her life changed.
The 27-year-old Australian woman said she had been feeling “a little” bad weather for the past few days, but after consulting her doctor, she was convinced she was just sick with the flu.
“So I took it really easy. On Saturday, I was having a quiet dinner with friends, and… [all of a sudden] It was like biting my tongue,” Allsop recalled in an interview with SEEN TV.
Within hours, however, her tongue “swollen quite a bit and the airway began to close a little.”
“It was so hard to breathe, I couldn’t really talk,” Allsop said.
When doctors arrived at the hospital, they first suspected she was suffering from anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction.
“I felt really short of breath and felt very tired. I just felt sick and just tired,” Allsopp said.
“But I didn’t have anything. [out of the ordinary to eat]. I’ve had vegan burgers. ”
Doctors gave her adrenaline and steroids, but Ms Alsop’s condition continued to deteriorate “rapidly”.
![Alsop's tongue began to swell shortly after he first felt the weather.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096266-1.jpg?w=763)
![Alsop's tongue began to swell shortly after he first felt the weather.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096266-1.jpg?w=763)
“I kept falling in and out of consciousness,” she said.
“My skin turned red and blue and was actually peeling. My mother described it as like a microwave burning from the inside out.” she said.
“And my tongue turned black. And then the topic of amputation came up…[They were] I was trying to understand what was going on. And I am so grateful to the doctors, nurses and the entire medical team for saving my life as I have been in mystery for so long.
“[Finally] Some anesthesiologists actually said this. “I don’t know what it is, but it could be Ludwig’s angina. 』
A rare oral infection is caused by a pinched wisdom tooth, which in Ms. Alsop’s case led to sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to infections that can lead to organ failure.
![Mr Alsop's tongue turned black and doctors put him into a coma.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096226-1.jpg?w=764)
![Mr Alsop's tongue turned black and doctors put him into a coma.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096226-1.jpg?w=764)
![Doctors considered amputating her tongue.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096533-1.jpg?w=768)
![Doctors considered amputating her tongue.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096533-1.jpg?w=768)
“The twist for me here is that I had no pain, no symptoms, no teeth at all,” she added.
“My tooth, my wisdom tooth, just got infected from an impact on my jaw, and I almost died from it.”
Doctors “needed to be completely sedated, so they had to put me in a coma and paralyze me,” said Allsopp, who also considered amputating his tongue.
“So stun you and put you on life support because they need to make sure you have oxygen and protect your airways,” she said.
![Mr Alsop recovered and was eventually able to wake up from his coma.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034092405-1.jpg?w=800)
![Mr Alsop recovered and was eventually able to wake up from his coma.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034092405-1.jpg?w=800)
“We also need to keep the organ from malfunctioning. This is the biggest concern of sepsis and why it’s a medical emergency.”
She eventually recovered, and when she awoke from her coma, Ms. Alsop said, “I have never been more grateful to be alive.”
“I can’t even explain it. It’s the feeling of being able to breathe. You can see it. You can hear it. Everything feels like a child again. In a way, it’s like being born again,” she said. explained.
“I’m so grateful to be here and get a second chance at life.”
![Alsop raises awareness about sepsis after infection](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096292-1.jpg?w=679)
![Alsop raises awareness about sepsis after infection](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/NYPICHPDPICT000034096292-1.jpg?w=679)
Alsop is now passionate about raising awareness about sepsis and urged the launch of the #comatoconfidence moment “because infectious diseases can happen to anyone”.
“This is the story of millions of people and the difference we can make by working together,” she said.
“I speak to the most amazing people who have actually had their lives affected by sepsis, or who have lost someone to sepsis. I wanted to know.”
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