Aussie woman’s powerful message after mum dies on caravan trip

An Aussie woman was weeks into a holiday when she felt something wasn’t right — not long after she was put in a coma and tragically never come out.

Australian woman Tracey Bunworth was caravanning with her husband when her holiday took a devastating turn.

The couple from Geelong in Victoria loved to travel and had centred a 10 week trip around the Birdsville Big Red Bash in the Simpson Desert.

But tragically just weeks after the festival, 58-year-old Tracey died in Cairns on July 28 from septic shock. Her body was flown back home last week.

Her daughter, Tarryn Bunworth, is determined to make sure people know about the life-threatening yet “forgotten about” condition, sepsis.

Just weeks after Tracey and Mark Bunworth posed for this picture at the Big Red Bash, Tracey tragically died. Picture: Supplied

Sepsis is 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.

Before Tracey and Mark headed off on their big trip, Tracey had an ulcer in her throat and had a stent put in to help her swallow food. She was told it would migrate to the bowel and pass naturally.

About eight weeks into the trip she went to Bathurst Hospital in pain, suspecting a bowel obstruction.

“They did a CT scan and the CT scan confirmed the stent that was in her throat had migrated to her bowel but because mum wasn’t clinically obstructed, meaning she was still able to have bowel movements, they opted not to operate,” Tarryn told news.com.au.

She said her mum was released with strong pain medication and told to follow up with her surgeon at home.

Mark and Tracey continued on their trip and were in the Atherton Tablelands days later when she “woke up screaming in excruciating pain”.

“Dad said she knew straight away that her bowel had burst. She just knew,” Tarryn said.

They used another traveller’s Starlink to call an ambulance and Tracey was flown to Cairns Hospital.

Tracey Bunworth (right) at her final Christmas with her family last year. Picture: Supplied

“It was a perforation in her bowel so they removed the damaged part of her bowel but decided to keep her open instead of closing her up because they were going to go in and operate again the next day and clean it out again,” Tarryn explained.

“They put her in an induced coma and she never came out of that coma.”

Tarryn explained the waste from Tracey’s bowel was spilling into her body, which led to her suffering septic shock and her organs failing. Septic shock is the most severe complication of sepsis.

Three days after she was put into the coma, she sadly passed away.

Tracey was a mother of two and a grandmother of two.

Instead of flowers, Tarryn is asking people to make a donation to Sepsis Australia.

Tarryn described sepsis as a “forgotten about condition” because when people die from sepsis the cause of the infection is usually what is spoken about.

“It’s always because they had this, they got sepsis. Of all the fundraisers you hear about, I just never hear anything about sepsis. It’s not getting the attention it deserves,” Tarryn said.

Tarryn Bunworth says she will honour her mum by raising awareness every year for World Sepsis Day, starting this year. Picture: Supplied

Sepsis Australia says sepsis can occur as a result of any infection but is treatable if caught early.

The symptoms include rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, confusion, slurred speech or disorientation, fever or shivering, muscle pain, not passing urine, and discoloured skin.

September 13 is World Sepsis Day and Tarryn has committed to raising awareness every year on this day in honour of her mum.

“My mum Tracey, was funny, smart, nurturing, caring, hardworking, selfless but above all, she was the most supportive person,” she said.

“Growing up she often worked two jobs to make sure my brother, Brad, and I never went without. We were so spoiled by mum even as adults.

“She was a simple woman, in that she didn’t need the finer things in life. She loved going on cruises and trips with my dad in their caravan.

“She was not just my mum, she was a wife to my dad Mark of 34 years, sister, mother-in-law, aunty, friend and nanny. She was the best nanny and absolutely doted over her two grandchildren, Ivy and Leo. Everyone who knew mum loved her, she was Aunty Trace to everyone.”

Associate Professor Carolyn Hullick, who is acting chief medical officer at the Australian Commission in Safety and Quality in Health Care, said every year 55,000 Australians are diagnosed with sepsis and more than 8700 lose their lives.

“As a practising emergency physician, I know that sepsis is time-critical and can be difficult to diagnose. Timely recognition can be the difference between life and death,” she wrote in a message for World Sepsis Day.