‘I was clinically dead’: Aussie doctor’s horror diagnosis

An Aussie doctor has shared his harrowing experience with a sudden illness that nearly cost him his life.

An Aussie doctor has shared his harrowing experience with a sudden illness that nearly cost him his life.

Dr Bradley MacDonald, from Western Australia, was hospitalised in 2020 after experiencing flu-like symptoms, heart problems and low blood pressure.

“My condition was a bit of an unusual one,” the 37-year-old pediatrician told news.com.au.

“There were some changes on my heart monitoring that made [doctors] think that maybe the heart is the cause of my low blood pressure.”

Within 24 hours doctors realised the then 32-year-old was suffering from sepsis, a life-threatening condition that happens when the body’s immune system has an extreme response to an infection.

The body’s reaction causes damage to its own tissues and organs.

Dr Bradley MacDonald spent more than a month in ICU with life-threatening sepsis. Picture: Supplied

Unclear how he got the flesh-eating superbug, the father-of-three developed multiple muscle infections.

He had several procedures to drain the pus in his body, cut out the infection and was treated with antibiotics while intubated.

His youngest daughter was only six weeks old when he went into a coma.

“It was really hectic,” he recalled.

“Fortunately, I missed most of it being intubated and then being very delirious afterwards.

“My wife and three kids, my parents felt the emotional side of things and the reality of that experience.”

Dr MacDonald spent three months in hospital with 35 days in ICU, two weeks in the ward and five weeks in rehab.

Debilitated from his experience, the physician lost 22kg and ability to walk. His condition left scars on his body from resections in the muscles.

Within six weeks, he built up his muscle strength and was able to walk again.

The pediatrician spent three months in hospital. Picture: Supplied

Four years since contacting sepsis, Dr MacDonald said the experience has changed his perspective on life.

“I was clinically dead. There’s a nice existential high that occurs after almost dying for a period of time,” he said.

“Even though 2020 was Covid year and there was anxiety in the world, for me I was just so thankful to be with my family.

“My daughter was six weeks at the time when I went into the ICU. To be able to see her grow up, I feel just really privileged and lucky.

“I often try to remind myself what I’ve been through and how quickly things can change in life.”

He continued: “That just gives me a nice perspective going forward in my everyday life.

“I certainly find lots of things I’m doing around medicine and with the family much more rewarding now.

“There’s a much more active role in the decisions that I make as well. I’m very choosy with what I want to do with my life based on those experiences.”

Dr MacDonald with his family. Picture: Supplied

Sepsis is a critical condition that can affect any Australian and can be deadly if left untreated.

According to the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS), every 20 minutes an Australian is admitted to ICU with sepsis.

Data from the ANZICS Registry reveals that last year, there were 26,300 ICU sepsis admissions throughout the country, making up 15 per cent of all ICU admissions.

Professor Ed Litton, Intensive Care Specialist and ANZICS Registry Director, said: “Sepsis doesn’t have to mean a death sentence.

“When recognised early in patients, sepsis can be entirely treatable. But in the last 30 years, there have been no new treatments for this condition.”

Originally published as ‘I was clinically dead’: Aussie doctor’s horror diagnosis