David Ross, a dad from Finsbury Park, north London, began suffering continuous coughing fits on his flight from India to London, and was swiftly rushed into A&E
A dad thought he had the “world’s worst chesty cough” — which turned out to be sepsis that nearly killed him.
David Ross, 37, experienced coughing fits on his flight to London from India, where he had been for work. This persisted, despite taking painkillers, for two more days and David took himself to hospital, where doctors were concerned.
Medics found David, whose partner at the time was 36 weeks pregnant at the time, had septic shock, brought on by pneumonia in both lungs. David, who lives in Finsbury Park, north London, was told he had “zero” chance of survival unless he was immediately sedated and placed on a ventilator.
But the commercial director fought off his illness, making an incredible recovery to be able to see the birth of his son, Ari. He is now gearing up to run the London Marathon next month to raise money for the health service which saved his life.
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Recalling his diagnosis, David said today: “I asked what the survival odds would be if I wasn’t intubated. He said: ‘Zero. You will die’. My partner was told there was a 50 per cent chance I would die that evening.
“If you go into septic shock, if it’s bad, you’re dead within 18 hours unless you are treated. My partner was 37 weeks pregnant and being told by doctors: ‘If he makes it out of this, he’s going to be in a really bad way for a while’. It was a motivating factor, knowing I was going to be a parent for the first time.”
David was placed on a ventilator and, despite aggressive treatment, his condition continued to deteriorate overnight. Three days later, he finally woke up in intensive care — alive, but facing a lengthy recovery.
His lungs were functioning at just 20 per cent capacity, and he required a prolonged stay in hospital before he was well enough to return home. However, unbelievably, just a week and a half after leaving the hospital, the commercial director returned to NHS’ Whittington Hospital for the birth of Ari.
David only took himself to hospital two days after returning from India, after consulting his brother-in-law, an NHS doctor, who said he would need urgent treatment. David had thought he just had a really bad cold when he was abroad but, upon returning, he experienced sweating and was urinating blood.
“I was in India for work. I started to get ill on the Wednesday, with what I thought was a cold. I just had a glass of water and went to bed early. On the Friday, I flew back to London. It was starting to go to my chest. It felt like the worst chesty cough… It wasn’t ideal for other passengers,” David said.
“By the Saturday, I was coughing relentlessly, but I still thought it was a cold or a chesty cough. I took some painkillers and went to bed early again. I was continuously sweating…
“On the Sunday morning, I was like, ‘I need to go to the doctors’. I managed to get an appointment for that evening. By Sunday lunchtime, I was coughing up and peeing blood.
“You see people dying of septic shock all the time, so I’m very lucky… I was really lucky with the quality of care I got. You hear terrible stories about the NHS and, obviously, there are issues, but the care I got was outstanding.”
David, whose sepsis struggle happened in May last year, will run the London Marathon to raise money for the NHS, which he says “saved his life”.
Selina Douglas, Chief Executive of Whittington Health NHS Trust, praised Mr Ross’s ‘deeply inspiring’ story. She said: David’s story is a powerful reminder of the incredible endurance and resilience within our community. Seeing patients not only recover but go on to achieve something as extraordinary as running a marathon is deeply inspiring. We are immensely proud of David and grateful that he has chosen to give back in this way.”
David’s fundraising efforts will support Whittington Health Charity, the official charity of Whittington Health. The Charity raises funds to enhance patient care, improve hospital environments, and support staff wellbeing across the Trust. His fundraising page has already garnered donations of more than £3,000. To donate, click this link.
