A mother-of-three fell seriously ill and was forced to learn to walk again – after doctors thought it would be a long time before Covid was in fact a life-threatening flesh-eating disease that had ravaged her organs.
Sam Lewis, 38, from Bournemouth, spent six months in intensive care as she recovered from an operation to remove half of her pancreas – which was destroyed by the infection.
The children’s entertainer first started feeling unwell in 2021, noticing chest pains one morning while getting her children ready for school.
When the worrying feeling persisted, she visited the doctor, who diagnosed costochondritis (inflammation of the breastbone) and sent her home with painkillers.
The pills only helped temporarily, and in March 2022 the pain returned severely, prompting another visit to the doctor.
This time her symptoms were ‘shrugged off’ as long as Covid.
But later that month she could no longer cope with the pain, forcing Mrs Lewis to take herself to hospital.
Doctors performed a CT scan which showed that a gallstone was blocking her bile ducts.
Sam Lewis believed she had a mild chest infection, which doctors believed was caused by long Covid, until she was eventually left fighting for her life in hospital.
The mother of three said her family was called to her hospital bedside and asked to say their final goodbyes.
Gallstones are small stones, usually made of cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder. In most cases they cause no symptoms and do not require treatment.
However, occasionally they can settle into positions that block vital structures, such as the bile duct – a small duct that connects some organs in the digestive system.
Mrs. Lewis was admitted to hospital to treat the obstruction, but her health rapidly deteriorated.
She had developed pancreatitis, a fatal condition in which the pancreas becomes extremely inflamed and causes agonizing pain.
Further tests revealed that the situation was even more serious; her condition had become necrotizing, meaning the organ tissue is so damaged that it begins to die.
In most cases, this causes bacteria to infect the tissue and begin to ‘eat’ it.
Speaking about the ordeal, she said: ‘Pancreatitis is bad and it can make you sick.
The children’s entertainer spent six months in hospital recovering from a major operation that affected her ability to walk.
‘It went from acute to necrotizing overnight.
‘My whole body swelled – It felt like I was eight months pregnant. I couldn’t move my ankles.’
Doctors moved her to intensive care, while her family was told she might not survive.
She said: ‘At one point I was minutes away from death.
“My family came in. It was heartbreaking. I couldn’t breathe properly. It was just so scary.”
Miraculously she survived, but after two months in Bournemouth Hospital she developed sepsis and had to be rushed to Southampton Hospital.
The doctors decided to put Sam in a medically induced coma and operate to remove the dead tissue and half of her pancreas.
A few days later, Sam woke up with a drainage bag hanging out of her stomach, connected to a feeding tube, and found she couldn’t walk.
Happier times: Mrs. Lewis and her three children enjoy a family trip to DisneyLand Paris before she became ill.
Mrs Lewis must now follow a very restricted diet to protect her pancreas from further damage
In total, she spent six months in hospital as doctors helped her gradually get back on her feet.
She was eventually discharged from hospital in August 2022, but was left with chronic pancreatitis – where the pancreas is permanently damaged by inflammation.
It means she now has to follow a very strict diet, which means sacrificing some of her favorite foods, such as chips and pastries.
She must adhere to a low-carb diet as foods can worsen her condition and result in her needing further hospital treatment.
“It’s something I have to live with,” Ms. Lewis said. I liked my food.
‘I liked going out. Now I don’t go anywhere in case I have a flare-up.
‘I can’t even eat chips, chocolate, fish and chips. I can’t eat fast food or go to the bakery.’
It took her a year to walk properly again and Mrs Lewis has still not been able to return to work.
But she hopes to ‘spoil’ as much as possible this Christmas without endangering her health. “I’m ready to really enjoy it,” she said.