Bampton sepsis survivor walks the Cotswold Way for awareness

“Sepsis is one of the very, very few diseases that can take you from being a perfectly healthy person to death’s door in a matter of hours.”

Robin Shuckburgh, who lives in Bampton, Oxfordshire, still remembers the “frightening experience” in 2023, when he went from “feeling a little groggy to almost straight into septic shock”.

But he considers himself “really lucky” to have recovered, and is now fundraising for Sepsis Research by walking the Cotswold Way.

Mr Shuckburgh is aiming to complete the 102-mile (164 km) national trail on 13 September, World Sepsis Day.

Sepsis is a rare, life-threatening medical condition that occurs when the body’s immune system starts to attack the body’s own tissues and organs.

Mr Shuckburgh, who is in his 70s, said the symptoms developed rapidly, with his temperature going up to 41°C (105.8 °F).

“I couldn’t string the two words together, my blood pressure disappeared almost completely and I was in trouble,” he said.

His son helped him get to a hospital in Oxford, where Mr Shuckburgh said he “went on to all kinds of drug regimes in order to try and beat this strange disease”.

“It closed down my lungs and my heart, I had two large attacks on the way into hospital,” he added.

He experienced another septic shock a few months later during a gallbladder removal.

“I was in intensive care for about 14 days and they really didn’t know if I was going to come out of that one,” he said.

“I’m delighted to be able to draw attention to its dangers.”

According to Sepsis Research, it is believed the condition claims the lives of about 50,000 people in the UK every year, which is more than the total combined number of deaths due to breast, bowel and prostate cancer.

“Huge numbers of people lose their limbs and are left with life-shattering results from sepsis,” Mr Shuckburgh said.

He is walking his “great summer challenge” from Chipping Campden to Bath in stages with his producer Ross Arrowsmith.

Mr Shuckburgh said so far they had been taking in some “miraculously beautiful views”.

“I think a lot of the Cotswolds can be quite flat, but this side is definitely very hilly,” Mr Arrowsmith said.

“But it’s been really fun and we’ve both been surprised by a lot of the things we’ve found along the way – monuments, buildings, villages.”

Their challenge has also been supported by guests including former RAF Warrant Officer Al Sylvester MBE, from Faringdon, who also survived sepsis and has raised awareness of it.

The day they are aiming to conclude the challenge will also mark the ninth anniversary of their channel.

“There’s something rather wonderful about this sort of synergy of all that,” Mr Shuckburgh said.

He said he thought people did not know much about sepsis, “so my feeling is that we all ought to be much more aware of the symptoms”.

“It will save lives because the quicker you’re onto it,” he added. “The more likely you are to survive.”