I Lost All Four Limbs After a UTI Turned to Sepsis… | Quadruple Amputee & Hand Transplant

**Kim Smith** (0:00)
They came out in two hours later with my pajamas and dressing gown and slippers and all my jewelry and said, she won't be needing these, she's got six hours to live. Wonder if it's a UTI and it's gone to my kidneys. He thought he was going to take me to hospital and they'd give me some antibiotics and I'd come home. The girls were stood there and they said to me, mum, the doctor's coming in in a minute, and he's going to tell you they've got to amputate all four limbs. And I went, okay. How soon can you do it? She took one look at me and she went, switch the machines off, switch the machines off. I don't let her live like that.
I know for a fact that the delay in treatment is what caused me to lose my limbs. It cost you a fortune to get legless. I'm legless all the time. Don't cost me nothing.
Raising awareness of sepsis is what saved my life. It's from save me from suicide, basically. I then started getting messages. You've just saved my life. Your video telling me about your symptoms actually saved my life. Her name is Georgie, and it is Georgie's hand. And I've got her tattoo, because I don't know what, I don't know how that, I don't, I don't, can you see it? I can't, I've got a tattoo there. I made a cheesecake with my granddaughter, my youngest granddaughter for the first time. She's five. I've been able to hold her little hand, you know, and it's just incredible that I'm able to do things like that now. No one will ever stop me. I don't care how many trolls are out there that come and, you know, kind of put a nasty comment. They won't stop me from commenting about sepsis every bloody day until people get that message.

**Hana** (1:42)
Hello, and welcome to Becoming Lucy with me, Hana.

**Lucy** (1:47)
And me, Lucy.
So, what if your entire life changed because of something you didn't know that you had? Today's guest wasn't taking part in any extreme sports, she wasn't involved in a serious accident, she wasn't doing anything people would consider high risk. She was simply living her life, running a business, making plans, and thinking about the future like most of us do.

**Hana** (2:14)
But in November 2017, Kim became unwell.
Most of us have had a urinary tract infection, it's uncomfortable, it's unpleasant, but it's usually something we can recover from. And what started as a UTI, she didn't even know she had actually, would suddenly develop intersepsis. And within weeks, Kim was fighting for her life.

**Lucy** (2:35)
The next thing Kim remembers is waking up after nine weeks in a coma. Only to be told that all four of her limbs would need to be amputated.

**Hana** (2:45)
And I think what people hear, and they immediately focus on the physical side of the story, the surgeries, the rehab, learning to live again. But actually what stayed with us the most was not what Kim lost, it's what she found afterwards.

**Lucy** (3:01)
Because this isn't just a conversation about sepsis, it's about identity, it's about grief, it's about rebuilding a life you never planned for. And it's about discovering what you're capable of when every certainty you've ever known disappears.

**Hana** (3:18)
And today Kim is raising awareness around sepsis, disability and organ donation. She's using her voice to educate others, challenge perceptions and show what's possible after life-changing adversity. And after years of rehab, she's doing many things people told her she would never do again.

**Lucy** (3:37)
And since becoming a quadruple amputee, Kim has rebuilt her life in ways she could never have imagined. She's become a sepsis awareness ambassador, an advocate for organ donation, and a hand transplant recipient, and somebody helping thousands of people through her story. But perhaps the most powerful thing she has said, I died in that hospital room and a new version of me is here now.
Today, we're talking about survival, identity, resilience, second chances, and what it really means to rebuild your life when everything changes. And this is Kim's story.

**Hana** (4:17)
Welcome to Becoming Lucy, Kim.

**Kim Smith** (4:20)
Thank you. Thank you.
Sounds like a different person now. Like, you know, it's kind of, it was a lifetime ago that it happened in a way, but it was like just yesterday and another, it's crazy.

**Hana** (4:32)
Well, honestly, we always talk about how we meet or get our guests. And actually, we found you and we came after you.
We saw Kim's work and awareness online, and we instantly found ourselves drawn to her story. And not actually just because of what happened to you. It's the way you speak about it. There's warmth, there's honesty and perspective that makes people stop and listen. So, we're super grateful that you've accepted to come on our podcast.