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\u201cThey gave me a physical stomach exam and said, \u2018no, it\u2019s definitely not appendicitis\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were quite patronising to me and my partner. My doctor said, \u2018I\u2019ve been in A&E for 12 years and I would know if it was appendicitis\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe actually checked my urine to see if I was pregnant instead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bain said they were frustrated by her initial treatment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. \u201cYou think you will be in the right place in A&E and you\u2019ll get the help you need,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
She was sent home, but less than 24 hours later Bain was rushed back through the doors \u2013 this time \u201calmost unconscious\u201d.<\/p>\n
Her appendix had now ruptured, and she was in the final stage of the life-threatening condition sepsis \u2013 septic shock.<\/p>\n
Such was the seriousness of her condition, Bain was rushed to the operating table for emergency surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I was ill, but I was pretty much unaware of everything that happened from there onwards,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lungs were failing, so I was placed on a ventilator. I was placed into an induced coma for two and a half to three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last thing Bain remembers, she said, was a \u201csense of impending doom\u201d as she was brought in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really did feel like I was dying,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Brave Bain bounces back from septic shock to take on London marathon<\/p>\n
She was kept on dialysis and at one point nurses suspected she had suffered a heart attack in the hospital.<\/p>\n
Her family and boyfriend Ben were at her side throughout, and she described them as her \u201cabsolute rock\u201d during the entire ordeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s something you can never really imagine, having to watch someone you love going through that,\u201d Bain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was extremely difficult for them. I was never alone at my bedside at all though, they made sure of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a few failed attempts to take her off the ventilator, Bain was finally brought out of the induced coma.<\/p>\n
She did not sleep for three whole days after being brought back, and experienced \u201cICU delirium\u201d \u2013 a common condition affecting patients who have to use a breathing machine \u2013 which brought with it \u201cwild\u201d hallucinations.<\/p>\n
\u2018Lot of mental recovery\u2019 after illness<\/p>\n
Bain was also \u201creally, really weak,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to learn how to sit up in the bed, relearn how to walk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a huge shock because I\u2019ve always been a strong, fit person.\u201d<\/p>\n
The whole experience left Bain \u201creally traumatised\u201d, she said, with a \u201cwhole lot of mental recovery\u201d to come after the sepsis was treated.<\/p>\n
What Bain did not lack though, was determination. She was told by a consultant that she would take six months to a year to get back to full health and fitness.<\/p>\n
That would have seen her miss out on the Orkney Island Games last summer, which she had earmarked as a prospective goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty disheartening to hear that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I maybe just took that on as a mental challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just one month after being discharged, Bain was back in the pool \u2013 something her consultant called \u201cinsane\u201d when she heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I was quite a strong person physically, but it was amazing the effect your mindset could have on it,\u201d Bain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I just wanted to prove them wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
London Marathon determination<\/p>\n
Having known little about sepsis before her diagnosis, she took it upon herself to learn more afterwards.<\/p>\n
She reached out to the UK Sepsis Trust, the national charity which aims to raise awareness and end preventable deaths from the illness, to find out more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was a blood poisoning illness, so when I looked it up I thought, \u2018this is not what I thought it was\u2019,\u201d Bain admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really useful to get read what other people\u2019s stories were \u2013 that was really quite comforting, in a weird way.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she knew that she wanted to do something for the charity, to raise education about the \u201cmisunderstood\u201d condition.<\/p>\n
That something was the London Marathon, which Bain will take on this Sunday in aid of the UK Sepsis Trust.<\/p>\n
The 25-year old has completed the Glasgow half-marathon, but this will be her first time running the longer 26.2 mile distance.<\/p>\n
Asked how training had been going, Bain admitted: \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty difficult, to be honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy running half-marathons, they\u2019re enjoyable to train for \u2013 that doesn\u2019t really take over your whole life.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraining in this weather over the winter has been tough mentally and motivation has definitely been a tough aspect.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy a warm pool instead! But it\u2019s been a good challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
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