Strictly’s Amy Dowden reveals she was rushed to hospital after contracting ‘life-threatening’ sepsis following her first round of chemotherapy
Amy Dowden has revealed she was rushed to hospital earlier this month after contracting sepsis following her first round of chemotherapy.
The Strictly Come Dancing star, 33, recently revealed that doctors discovered she has ‘a different type of cancer’ following her initial breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
She began chemo on August 3 and shared the experience on her Instagram Stories for her followers.
Amy admitted that she “wished this didn’t happen to me,” after being given a port and a cold cap for treatment, adding that she had burst into tears.
But she later put on a brave face, saying the experience “wasn’t as bad” as she thought, joking that she was “one step closer to being on the dance floor again.”
Scary: Amy Dowden has revealed she was rushed to hospital earlier this month after contracting sepsis following her first round of chemotherapy
Horrible: The Strictly Come Dancing star, 33, recently revealed that doctors discovered she has ‘another type of cancer’ following her initial breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year
Two days later, however, Amy began to feel ill and developed a temperature of 37.7 degrees Celsius, which she said “could be deadly for a chemo patient.”
The professional dancer assumed she was just responding to the chemo, but things soon started to get worse, with her mother Gillian saying she went from okay to sick in ‘an instant’.
She became breathless and complained of pain in her chest before “falling back onto the couch.”
Speak with Hello! Magazine, Amy recalled, “I started to feel sick and not quite well. I was freezing cold, but I was all clammy and shaking. My mom and dad called my red card (which has chemotherapy team contact details and current treatment information) and they told them to hang up and call an ambulance.”
After paramedics arrived, they advised her to rush to the hospital, but Amy was hesitant to go.
She said, “I didn’t want to go to the hospital; I didn’t realize then how sick I was. I knew it was Saturday night, so the emergency room would probably be busy, and it was dangerous to be around people because you’re more likely to get an infection. With chemotherapy you don’t have white blood cells to fight infections.’
However, paramedics reassured her and she was rushed to Walsall Manor Hospital and treated for a viral infection with an antibiotic drip.
But it was later revealed that she contracted sepsis and was taken to the intensive care unit (ICU) because her blood pressure was dangerously low.
Difficult: She began chemotherapy on Aug. 3 and shared the experience on her Instagram Stories, admitting that she “wished this didn’t happen to me,” after being given a port and a cold cap for treatment, adding that they burst into tears
Strong: But she later put on a brave face, saying the experience “wasn’t as bad” as she thought, joking that she was “one step closer to being on the dance floor again”
Her parents Richard and Gillian said they were in ‘panic mode’ and Gillian said: ‘We didn’t know what to do with ourselves, everything looked very serious. What I couldn’t believe is how quickly the situation can change and how little time you have to react.’
Fortunately, Amy began to respond to treatment and started to get better, so she was able to return home on August 8.
Speaking of the scary ordeal, Amy said, “I just got really, really unlucky. I’m also more susceptible to infections because I have a lower immune system due to Crohn’s disease.”
She expressed her gratitude to the paramedics who saved her life and revealed that her strict co-stars have been in touch.
She said: “The professionals have sent videos, flowers and presents. I speak to Dianne (Buswell) every day. This also affects them, because we are a team. I’m thankful they included me because Strictly will help me get through the next few months mentally. It’s just the tonic I need.’