Chelsea Football Club player and Wellington resident Brooke Aspin has sent a warning about a deadly condition which put her in an intensive care unit.

Brooke is fronting an awareness campaign for September's Sepsis Awareness Month, after suffering badly from the condition last year.

Then a player for Bristol FC, Brooke was taken ill in 2022 after experiencing pain in her groin. Before long she had been rendered unable to walk and was admitted to hospital.

Once in hospital Brooke was diagnosed as suffering from sepsis before being transferred to an intensive care ward where she remained for weeks.

Sepsis is a condition in which the body responds badly to an infection and begins to attack its own organs. It claims the lives of five people every hour in the UK, and is the world's leading cause of preventable death.

Telling of her experience Brooke said: “My hospital journey was a bit crazy in hindsight. I started off in the children's unit then was moved to a room alongside the unit which was meant for patients needing care 24/7. I stayed there for around a week but then had to be admitted to Intensive care when things suddenly got quite scary for everyone.  

“Eventually I was taken back to the children's unit for the final part of my recovery in hospital. I wasn’t really aware of much if I’m honest. It was such a scary time; I was just worrying whether I was going to be okay. 

“It felt like everything happened at once - like each diagnosis was just being piled up on top of another. I never really had a chance to process this until I was discharged from hospital and realised what a horrible, horrible thing I had managed to fight off.”

Brooke has since made a full recovery to rejoin the Women's Super League for Chelsea FC.

Colin Graham, chief operating officer at Sepsis Research FEAT, said:  “Sepsis is the number one cause of preventable death in the world and often has life-changing consequences for those that survive. It’s a brutal condition that doesn’t discriminate and Brooke’s story shows that – even a young, super-fit athlete can be affected by sepsis.

"Thankfully Brooke has made a full recovery and is back to playing football at the highest level, but sadly not everyone has such a positive outcome.  

“The faster sepsis is spotted, the more chance the patient has of a positive outcome. That’s why it’s so important to know the symptoms, recognise them quickly and act fast to get treatment.” 

Talking about her support of the charity and Sepsis Awareness Month, Brooke said:  “It seems like a good time and place to share my story and hopefully raise some awareness. I want people to realise how someone fit and healthy can be so affected by something so awful. And if I can help just one person then that’s all I want.”