Michael Cole , 40, developed sepsis after his golden retriever Harley nipped him on the hand. Photo/Michael Cole/Facebook
Michael Cole , 40, developed sepsis after his golden retriever Harley nipped him on the hand. Photo/Michael Cole/Facebook
A father-of-one has revealed how he lost his right arm after he developed a deadly form of sepsis when he was bitten by his puppy.
Michael Cole fell prey to the condition often known as the "silent killer" hours after his golden retriever Harley nipped him on the hand last November.
The 40-year-old bank worker from Christchurch had to have six operations and was given "no chance of survival" before he eventually had his arm amputated below the shoulder, according to Daily Mail.
But he is now suing the NHS, claiming medics failed to diagnose his condition in time.
Cole, who has a six-year-old daughter called Ella, told The Sun: "It all came from a little accidental bite by our puppy who tried to grab food from my plate and my hand got there first. Now I'm disabled for life."
He told The Sun his wife Ffyona, 43, called a doctor when his hand swelled up and he suffered from sickness the morning after being bitten - but was refused antibiotics.
His wife dialled the NHS non-emergency number 111 five hours later, which sent out paramedics who diagnosed sepsis.
Cole, who also has diabetes and an immune condition, spent two weeks on life support at Poole Hospital in Dorset.
As she wished her husband a happy 40th birthday, his wife wrote on Facebook: "Happy 40th birthday to this one! I was told that he wouldn't make it passed 39, but here he is, back on his feet, standing strong [sic].
Cole, who also has diabetes and an immune condition, spent two weeks on life support at Poole Hospital in Dorset. Photo/Michael Cole/Facebook
"Ella and I love you as big as the sky."
Cole is taking launching legal action against the NHS, with the help of Irwin Mitchell solicitors.
Last year the Daily Mail's 'End the Sepsis Scandal' campaign was launched following the revelation that one-year-old William Mead, from Penryn, Cornwall, died in 2014 because a series of doctors had overlooked telltale signs of sepsis.
Cole's wife Ffyona, 43, called a doctor when his hand swelled up and he suffered from sickness the morning after being bitten - but he was refused antibiotics. Photo/Michael Cole/Facebook
Last December, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to distribute a million leaflets and posters throughout GP surgeries, maternity wards and Casualty departments, and to retrain doctors and nurses to spot the signs of sepsis in children.
Each year sepsis claims more lives than bowel, breast and prostate cancer combined, and the charity hopes to raise enough funding for an awareness campaign for adults.
