Bolton: Mum of four-year-old's on Strep A and sepsis impact

The mother of the brave four-year-old from Westhoughton who battled Strep A and sepsis, has shared her emotional journey and how the family’s life has since changed.

Camila Rose Burns was left fighting for her life in December 2022 having been admitted to Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after becoming infected with Strep A.

As a result, Camila later contracted sepsis and went into septic shock which has since caused damage to Camila’s hands and feet due to a lot of skin having to be taken away.

She also suffered multiple organ failure as well.

• ALSO READ: Four-year-old Bolton girl out of intensive care

Her mum Kaye Daniels says that Camila is doing “really well” and is able to walk for small periods but needs a wheelchair for longer distances.

She said: “She is doing good and is up and about for little periods, but it hurts the back of her legs if she walks too far.

“On the right side of her leg the tendons are still sore, and she is due to have an operation on that foot.

The after effects of septic shock (Image: Kaye Daniels)

“There is a bone sticking out under her right foot, where some of the dead flesh was cut away when her toes were amputated, and the skin hasn’t healed over it.

“It’s really good that she’s come so far because back then in those couple of weeks, we didn’t have a clue what was going to happen, and we were unsure about walking due to her being in hospital.

“We thought she was going to start walking but didn’t know how soon or how well.”

Camila’s skin on her feet has become mottled and black at the end of her fingers due to the septic shock, known as gangrene due to the body’s tissues dying.

Kaye said: “Her right hand still has black fingers, and the end of her thumbs and fingers has come off and healed over.

• ALSO READ: Four-year-old off ventilator but fighting Strep A

“She has started to use that hand a bit.

“Every time her bandage is changed, I am looking at her to see if anything is coming off. 

“They are all bandaged up and it should be okay as long as they heal well.

Camila's foot after the toes were amputated (Image: Kaye Daniels)

“The way she deals with it is really positive and she is dealing better with it than I would.”

Camila has adapted really well to using her left hand even though she is right-handed and has been playing with Lego, and painting and colouring again “quite neatly”.

ALSO READ: Bolton girl, 4, with Strep A infection returns home

Kaye says that at the time when Camila was in the hospital for six weeks, the family didn’t know how this would affect her long term.

But she says that this is “minimal” compared to what could have happened and that during the first few days they thought Camila would have to have all four limbs amputated.

Kaye with her daughters Camila and Florence (Image: Kaye Daniels)

Camila continues to regularly go back to Alder Hey to have her dressings changed, with her skin still being quite thin which will be ongoing until the skin has healed, as well as having kidney check-ups too due to kidney failure.

She will also have respiratory check-ups as well as physio.

Kaye added: “They were quite happy with her kidney check-up.

“We will be taking her back to nursery to get her back to being a kid and playing with her friends and move about to her table.”

Kaye has been raising awareness during this week for Paediatric Sepsis Week, warning others to be aware of the signs and symptoms to look out for.

She added: “People should be aware of how things can turn into sepsis.

“I think everyone has heard of sepsis and heard of mottled skin with meningitis.

“But it was the speed of her being ill that turned into sepsis.

• ALSO READ: Fundraiser as Bolton girl with Strep A is ‘fighting for her life’

“If I could look back now when we went to hospital on the Sunday before she was critically ill, we would have pushed more.

“I didn’t think in our wildest dreams it would have been anything like that.

“If I did know the symptoms, I would have asked if it could have been sepsis.”

Leading up to understanding that Camila had sepsis, she had been slightly sick a few times, which is when Kaye thought she just had a standard “winter sick bug”.

She also had a pain in her upper stomach and side underarm, a “strange shallow cough that seemed to hurt so she couldn’t cough properly”, rapid heartbeat and rapid breathing, as well as a high temperature, and feeling lethargic.

Kaye added: “I took her to A&E with all of these symptoms and they sent us home.

“The next day she woke up worse with all these, plus a mottled rash, she was hallucinating and has black/dark vomit.

“I called 999 but it was too long a wait, so I took her myself.

“Time is critical with sepsis.

“People need to be aware of all these and trust your instincts and ask could it be sepsis?

“It’s so important because she very nearly wasn’t here.”

Kaye says that Camila will continue to have a disability affecting her balance and walking and they are unsure about the tendon on her leg at the moment.

Camila is due to have an operation next Monday at Alder Hey to cut the bone on her foot down so that hopefully her skin will then heal over it.

Kaye added: “The fingers on her right hand - the parts which are dead - will also be removed either at the same time on Monday or at a later date if they haven’t come away by themselves.

“Also, she will likely need an operation in the future to lengthen the tendon in her right leg as she can’t get enough stretch in it to put it flat on the floor at 90 degrees, so it causes a limp.”

If you have a story and something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at jasmine.jackson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @JournoJasmine.