Amy Dowden updated her followers with some positive news on Wednesday, ahead of her third round of chemotherapy.
The Strictly dancer posted an image of herself smiling and giving a thumbs-up on her Instagram Stories, which she captioned: "Bloods are good and I have the best day ahead before chemo tomorrow!" She then teased her fans by writing: "Any guesses where I'm off [to]?"
Her post comes days after she opened up to HELLO! about her experience of sepsis following her first round of chemo.
The scary ordeal came two days earlier this month. "I wasn't feeling too bad that day, just sick, but a couple of hours later I started having a temperature of 37.7 degrees Celsius," Amy said.
"At the time, I didn’t realise that having a temperature of 37.5 or above could be fatal for a chemo patient. I just thought it was my reaction to chemo, but as it turned out, I had already got an infection."
© InstagramOn Friday and Saturday, Amy felt better and managed to go for a walk with her dad Richard, who came to visit with Amy's mum Gillian, on Saturday.
But after she returned from the walk, things started to go downhill. It was when Gillian had settled down to watch a film with her daughter, that she noticed Amy was breathless and complaining of a pain in her chest. "She went to stand, then just sort of crumpled back onto the settee," Gillian recalled.
© GettyAdded Amy: "I felt freezing cold but I was all clammy and shaking. My mum and dad rang my red card [which provides the chemotherapy team's contact details and current treatment information] and they said to hang up and ring the ambulance."
Amy was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital, where she was treated for a viral infection with an antibiotic drip. At 3 a.m., when Amy was stable, Gillian returned home, but the family received a shock later that morning when Ben phoned the hospital for an update.
© Ken McKay/ITV/ShutterstockIt was then they were told that Amy was being treated for sepsis. "We were in panic mode," recalled Richard, who rushed to the hospital with Ben and Gillian.
When they arrived, they were updated by a doctor, who told them that Amy was being treated by the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team and that her blood pressure was dangerously low. "We didn’t know what to do with ourselves, everything was looking very serious," said Gillian, adding: "What I couldn’t believe is how quick the situation can change and how little time you have to respond."
© InstagramThankfully, by 6 p.m. on Sunday evening, after a change in the type of antibiotics she was being given, Amy started to show signs of improvement.
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According to the NHS website, an adult with the following symptoms should call 999 or be taken to A&E: acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense, blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue, a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast.
