A young woman, Bethannie Booth, tragically lost her life just weeks after developing a sore throat.
The 24-year-old bid a touching farewell to her family and even planned her own funeral before being put into a medically induced coma.
Bethannie, an elementary school teacher from Wales, United Kingdom, started showing symptoms of illness on March 2. She noticed red bumps on her face, experienced a minor sore throat, and dealt with a headache, her sister, Nia-ffion Davies, 27, revealed to BBC News.
A sudden breathing difficulty on March 5 led to her immediate hospitalization at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. She was swiftly put into resuscitation and moved to the intensive care unit soon after. It was discovered that a Strep A infection had caused Bethannie's lung to collapse.
This infectious bacteria has been spreading rapidly across the UK, contributing to a rise in scarlet fever cases. Bethannie's health further declined as she contracted sepsis, a life-threatening response of the body to infection, often originating from the lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Medical professionals decided to put Bethannie in a coma to give her organs a chance to recover. During this critical time, Bethannie sent some poignant messages to her loved ones, expressing her fear of dying but maintaining her spirit of light-heartedness.
Her sister, Megan Booth, 25, reflected on these messages, saying, "It kills me that she felt that, she must have been scared, but she was still able to crack a joke."
Bethannie had even started planning her own funeral, instructing her mother to enforce a ban on black attire and insist on bright, vibrant colors instead.
She was later moved to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where she spent two-and-a-half weeks on an ECMO machine, a device that aids breathing by using an artificial lung.
Bethannie showed signs of recovery and was transferred back to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital. However, she contracted sepsis once again and sadly passed away on March 31, surrounded by her family.
Her father, Wayne Booth, recounted her final moments, "All four of us went in to see her. We were holding her hand and she took her last breath."
The family hopes that by sharing Bethannie's story, they can raise awareness about sepsis and its symptoms, which include difficulty breathing, blotchy skin, and a rash.
Wayne Booth urged, "If we can save one poor family going through what we’ve gone through, we’ve accomplished something. A sore throat is not always a sore throat."
Echoing this sentiment, Ms. Davies added, "If you feel like things are wrong, if you suspect that anything’s wrong, don’t let anyone tell you that there’s nothing wrong."
