Trauma of a 24-year-old woman from Hull: An infected bladder led to the amputation of her lower leg

A woman from Hull is devastated after she eventually had to have her lower leg amputated due to an infected bladder.

The 24-year-old urged people to be aware of the dramatic impact of a simple blister and to seek medical help if needed.

Charlie Beardshall-Moore, of Newland Avenue, is recovering at home under the care of her partner Jason Copeland and grandmother Sheryl Moore. She is confined to a wheelchair until doctors can fit her with a prosthetic limb, which could take up to three months.

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Charlie said the change in her life was traumatic, going from being completely independent, active and sporty to wearing trainers, shopping and swimming one day and a blister becoming infected the next, eventually threatening her life.

She told Hull Live how she was battling sepsis due to the infection. Doctors told her last week that the only way to recover was to have her lower left leg amputated. A possible artery bypass, where an artery is taken from one leg and inserted into the other, has been ruled out, Charlie added.

She said: “People need to get this checked out literally immediately. I've lost my leg now. It can happen to anyone.”

“My life has changed massively. I used to go out every day and be active, swim, work at KFC and go shopping. Now I have lost my independence and rely on the help of my partner and my grandmother. They have been great but I can't understand how I could walk around on tiptoe for the last three years and suddenly have my leg amputated. I miss being able to do things on my own.

“I have a mental health team looking after me. But I can't cope and I'm suffering from depression when all I want to do is get up and go and do the things any normal 24-year-old would do. It looks like I'm going to be in a wheelchair for the next three months. It's killing me.”

Charlie said the blister first appeared in January 2021 while she was wearing trainers. She noticed it had become infected, growing larger and was draining pus. She visited several hospitals in and around Hull and sought specialist advice, but her foot never healed.

Charlie said she nearly lost her life in 2022 after developing sepsis due to a blocked artery. She said she was so desperate to solve the problem that her grandmother helped her pay for a private doctor, but after spending £110 on a 10-minute consultation, she said she still hadn't received an answer.

Charlie remains hopeful that she can return to a normal life. “I've worked all my life,” she said. “I want to be able to work again and not be on sick leave. I'm a girl who likes to be independent and not be in a wheelchair and not be able to go out and do the things that 24-year-olds do.”