Mum who lost all her fingers to sepsis now has a full set again thanks to Morriston team

A mum who lost all her fingers to sepsis now has a full set again thanks to the amazing skills of a specialist team at Morriston Hospital.

They overcame a series of unique challenges to create eight prosthetic fingers which are almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

Louise Marshallsay, from Mumbles in Swansea, became critically ill in 2022. She says that staff at Morriston Hospital not only saved her life but are helping to give her life back to her.

(Main photo above shows, from left, maxillofacial prosthetist Steven Hollisey-McLean, Louise Marshallsay, Maxillofacial Laboratory Services Manager Peter Llewelyn Evans, and trainee clinical scientist Kat Gach)

Now getting used to her prostheses, which were only fitted a few weeks ago, 47-year-old Louise said: “It means the world. They have produced these wonderful fingers for me, that I think look amazing. It’s been a challenge, but a good one.”

Louise had to give up her teaching assistant job in 2019 because of ongoing health problems. Then, in July 2022, a kidney stone left her in agony. Having had one before she thought she knew what to expect. But instead she went into septic shock and was left fighting for her life.

“I woke up in intensive care,” she recalled. “I was at death’s door. I was delirious and didn’t know what time of day it was. I became aware of it more as I was getting better. I’d had dialysis and lots of infusions, bloods and plasma and all that.

“My fingers were going blue and purple. I asked why and they said it was because they’d had to save my life and keep my main organs alive. They were dying off one by one. The kidneys went first, and that’s why I was on dialysis.”

(Right: Louise can now hold her mobile phone thanks to the prosthetic fingers)

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition when the body’s response to an infection damages vital organs. Septic shock is the most severe form and also the most difficult to treat.

One of the more serious complications is organ damage. Another is tissue death, or gangrene, which can lead to amputations. Some survivors need to have fingers or toes removed while others can lose limbs.

In September 2022, a month after being discharged from Morriston, Louise had surgery to remove the damaged fingers from one hand, with those on the other hand amputated the following month.

“It was in day surgery and I was awake through it all,” she said. “They were very professional and lovely. It was very relaxing in theatre, or as much as it could be.

“The second operation was on my birthday. They had happy birthday on repeat about seven times and I said you can change the music now!

“It was upbeat. Even though I’d been through this horrific time, I’ve had a lot of support. Everything was done to a very high standard throughout.”

In addition to the damage to her fingers and other significant health problems resulting from the sepsis, Louise also lost all five toes on her right foot, causing problems with balance.

But, while still adapting to her new way of life, she remains remarkably upbeat. “We had a chat as a family and they all agree with me,” said Louise, who is mum to a grown-up daughter. “I’m still alive. I can do birthdays, Christmas, holidays.

“And I’m lucky that it was only my fingers and toes. It could have been my arms and legs.

“Because that was what I was thinking at one stage. My hands were black, and my feet were black. I class myself as being very lucky, in a way, that it was just the tips.”

It was while recovering from surgery that Louise asked if it was possible to have prosthetic fingers – and, to her surprise, was told it was.

That led to her attending the Maxillofacial Laboratory at Morriston Hospital, which creates prosthetic replacements for a range of body parts.

Over the next 11 months the highly specialised team worked with Louise on what was a tough but ultimately rewarding challenge.

“It was quite unusual for us,” said Maxillofacial Laboratory Services Manager Peter Llewelyn Evans. “We would normally rehabilitate patients with one or two fingers.

“Usually, if it’s a unilateral defect, we would take impressions of the undamaged finger on the other hand, then make some slight symmetry changes. But in this case, of course, we had nothing to go on.”

Trainee clinical scientist Kat Gach realised her hand was around the same size as Louise’s. “I thought we could use my fingers as the starting point and adjust it to what Louise needs and likes,” Kat said.

“It took months, with various appointments, and I am really pleased with the outcome.”

(Left: Trainee clinical scientist Kat Gach checks Louise's prosthetic fingers)

Each finger was initially carved from wax, with Louise having a say on details such as the fingernails. Then moulds were made to create silicone prostheses, which were colour-matched to Louise’s skin tones.

“It was a particularly difficult case,” said maxillofacial prosthetist Steven Hollisey-McLean. “I’ve never seen anything like it in the whole of my career, where someone required that number of finger prostheses.

“But it’s nice to be part of such a positive aspect of the treatment, especially for someone like Louise who has been through such an ordeal.

“To be able to give her something positive is a really rewarding part of the job. And, as a team, that’s what we try to do all the time.”

Mr Evans added: “It’s nice to have such an amazing team. And seeing Louise’s reaction when the prostheses go on, that’s just priceless.”

Louise said her visits to the lab felt less like hospital appointments and more like a nice catch-up with the gang. Everyone, she said, was so friendly and seeing so many smiling faces had made a big difference.

Reflecting on the difference her prostheses had made, she said: “You go through so much trauma and then to have this as the positive ending makes all the trauma be in the past.

“I just want to get on with my life now and not dwell on what happened to me. And this is helping me do it.

“I can hold my mobile phone now. I can’t swipe the screen with my fingers but I’m using my thumbs instead. I’ve adapted.

(Right: A close-up of Louise's damaged fingers and the prosthetic replacements)

“I will have to learn how to hold a brush and things, because the fingers don’t bend. They’re aesthetic rather than functional.

“I can’t do things like use a knife and fork or cook with them or reach into my bag for something. I have no sensation in the tips so I don’t know what I would be picking up. But that was the case when I first had my fingers off. I couldn’t do half of what I can do now with them.

“I’m hoping that, the more I wear the prosthetics, the more I will be able to do in the future.

“I’ve come a long way. In hospital, I was dying for four days. So to be here now, doing this, it’s huge. It’s a miracle, really, and it’s not just this team – it’s the other teams in Morriston and in Singleton.”