Young Aussie doctor speaks out after being diagnosed with life-threatening condition: I was clinically dead
A young Aussie doctor and father-of-three is grateful to be alive after a life-threatening condition left him unable to walk.
A young Aussie doctor and father-of-three is grateful to be alive after a life-threatening condition left him unable to walk.
Paediatrician Dr Bradley MacDonald, 37, was admitted to a WA hospital with flu-like symptoms, low blood pressure and heart problems in 2020.
He was diagnosed with sepsis, a dangerous condition which sees the immune system attack the tissues and organs with sometimes fatal consequences.
The then-32-year-old spent three months in hospital, including over a month in ICU, five weeks in rehab and two weeks on the ward.
I was clinically dead. Theres a nice existential high that occurs after almost dying for a period of time, he told news.com.au.
There were some changes on my heart monitoring that made [doctors] think that maybe the heart is the cause of my low blood pressure, he said.
Dr MacDonald is still unsure how he contracted the serious condition, which put him in a coma and left him with multiple muscle infections.
He required several procedures to remove the infection and drain the pus from his body before he was intubated and treated with antibiotics.
Paediatrician Dr Bradley MacDonald (pictured) from WA was hospitalised with sepsis in 2020
The young doctor spent three months in hospital and underwent six weeks in rehab after he was diagnosed with sepsis - a dangerous condition with sometimes fatal consequences
His youngest daughter was only six-weeks-old when he was first admitted.
Dr MacDonald said he was fortunate enough avoid most of the pain by being intubated and very delirious.
He lost 22kg and still carries scars from resections in his muscles - the process where a section of the muscle is removed to make it shorter in order to strengthen it.
After six weeks of gruelling rehab, he regained enough strength to walk again.
Four years later, the doctor said the experience gave him a new perspective on life and how quickly things can change.
Even though 2020 was Covid year and there was anxiety in the world, for me I was just so thankful to be with my family, Mr MacDonald said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) website said sepsis is one of the most frequent causes of death worldwide.
Dr. Bradley MacDonald receives his 2022 Business Events Perth/AMA (WA) Aspire Award
An estimated 18,000 Australian adults are treated in intensive care units for sepsis annually, of which almost 5,000 will die, according to Queensland Heath.
This is more than twice the number of road toll deaths.
Elderly people, infants, pregnant women and people with underlying health issues are most at risk of contracting sepsis.
The WHO estimates that nearly half of all sepsis cases recorded worldwide occurred in children under five-years-old.
