A mother-of-three has spoken of the agony she endured after a medical intern failed to treat her for sepsis, mistaking her symptoms for endometriosis.
The intern’s grave error led to Priscilla Dray having to have all four of her limbs amputated – in an procedure that left her feeling “massacred”. Tragically, Priscilla is far from the only woman whose fears have been dismissed by healthcare professionals, with catastrophic consequences.
The Frenchwoman had been in “great shape” when, in 2011, she arrived at Bordeaux’s Pellegrin University Hospital for an abortion. But it was then that her life changed forever.
Although the procedure went as planned, former shopkeeper Priscilla, then 36, was left fighting a “flesh-eating’ infection”, with her condition deteriorating alarmingly. Unfortunately, medics did not act quickly enough – a fact that doesn’t surprise women’s wellness expert Stefanie Joy Daniels ACC, NT (DipCNM).
Stefanie, the CEO of Life Begins at Menopause, told the Mirror: “The case unfortunately highlights a critical and often overlooked aspect of healthcare – the urgent need to take women’s health concerns seriously.
“Priscilla’s experience is a heart-wrenching reminder of the catastrophic consequences that can arise from dismissing women’s symptoms and the importance of advocating for more attentive and responsive healthcare practices.
“It really is essential that every symptom and concern expressed by patients is addressed with seriousness and diligence to prevent devastating outcomes in the future so hopefully her experience won’t be in vain.
“This story underscores the need for a systemic shift towards better education and training in recognising signs of serious complications like sepsis – particularly when following surgical procedures. It also calls for a broader cultural change within our healthcare systems to address and dismantle the biases that too often lead to the minimisation of women’s pain and concerns.”
Appearing before a Bordeaux court yesterday, two doctors faced charges of causing involuntary injuries with incapacity, relating to Priscilla’s case. The hospital was fined 300,000 euros after Priscilla’s case came to light, with three people indicted, as reported by Femme Actuelle in 2023. A gynaecologist was indicted for not administered antibiotics from the very beginning.
Speaking with French media, Priscilla told of how her temperature soared to 39.6C after the abortion. A doctor refused her antibiotics at the time and instead sent her home. It was believed at this point that Priscilla had endometriosis, a potentially very painful condition whereby tissue similar to that found in the womb grows in other parts of a patient’s body.
However, what doctors didn’t realise at the time was that Priscilla was in fact suffering from sepsis, a life-threatening condition which occurs when a person’s immune system reacts in an extreme manner to an infection, and can result in organ damage, and even death.
As noted by the NHS, sepsis can be tricky to spot, however, symptoms to look out for include shortness of breath, confusion, slurred speech, blotchy skin, and changes in temperature, such as a fever. Dr Deepali Misra-Sharp, NHS GP and Women’s health specialist, told the Mirror: “The most concerning aspect is the apparent failure to diagnose and treat sepsis early.
“In the UK, the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) is used to assess deteriorating patients, and any patient with a persistently high temperature, tachycardia, or signs of infection would be red-flagged for urgent intervention. Sepsis screening tools (e.g., the Sepsis Six pathway) help identify at-risk patients quickly, emphasizing the importance of early antibiotics and escalation to hospital care.”
Countless studies show that, all too often, women’s pain is treated differently to men’s pain, and Priscilla is unfortunately far from the only woman to have a serious condition dismissed by medical professionals in countries all across the globe. A 2008 study published in the journal of Academic Emergency Medicine found that women in US A&E departments had to wait on average 16 minutes longer than men to receive pain relief medication, while a 2009 study in the Journal of Women’s Health determined that middle-aged women experiencing chest pain and other coronary heart disease symptoms were twice as likely to be given a mental health-related diagnosis, compared with men experiencing the exact same symptoms.
A 2022 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association concluded that female patients who visited US emergency departments with chest pain waited 29 per cent longer than men to undergo evaluation for possible heart attacks. In 2023, after surveying 5,100 women and men in the UK, The Gender Pain Gap Index Report found that more than half of women (56 per cent) felt healthcare professionals had ignored or dismissed their pain. Out of those who reported that their pain had been ignored or dismissed, almost one in four women, compared with one in six men, stated that nobody had taken their pain seriously.
Looking specifically at Priscilla’s case, Dr Deepali emphasised the importance of looking out for symptoms of an infection in the field of post-abortion care. She explained: “Post-Abortion Care & Infection Risk – In the UK, post-abortion infection risk is well-documented, and prophylactic antibiotics are often used in medical and surgical terminations.
“NICE and RCOG guidelines recommend follow-up care to monitor for complications. A high fever post-abortion should immediately raise concern for retained products of conception (RPOC), endometritis, or sepsis—all of which require urgent medical intervention.”
The day after she was sent home, Priscilla, who feared something had gone terribly wrong, visited her GP in Cap Ferret, who believed she could have septicaemia. It was at this point that Priscilla was rushed back to hospital with a GP’s letter addressed for emergency doctors. Horrifyingly however, the mum claims this note was not passed on by hospital staff.
By this point, Priscilla was struggling to breathe and was also suffering from icy cold hands and feet. She was eventually given an antibiotic, however, by this time, she says it was far too late, with ‘”flesh-eating bacteria” having already begun to eat away at her limbs.
According to local news reports, Priscilla was given just a five per cent shot at survival after being brough back into hospital. In the course of just over a week, she developed necrosis – related to the septic shock – and was transferred to an intensive care unit for patents with severe burns.
At the end of August, doctors decided to amputate all four of Priscilla’s limbs – a decision that would have a profound and devastating impact on her life. Speaking on the M6 programme Zone Interdite, Priscilla shared: “I trusted [them] and this is the state they put me in. They killed me, and normally I should have died.”
Looking back on how her life had changed in a 2018 interview with Sud Ouest, Priscilla explained: “Someone helps me every day at home. For every daily task, you have to be able to adapt and organise yourself. The hardest part is to come to terms with it and tell yourself that there are things you can no longer do yourself. It’s hard.”
She added: “It’s my three children who give me this energy. Without them, I wouldn’t have had the same strength. And I still live with the hope of repairing myself. I’m dependent on progress in medicine and technology.”
For those who live with the aftermath of “medical gaslighting”, the trauma can be significant. Shedding some light on the psychological impact of such an ordeal, neuroscience expert Emily-rose Hartley, aka Brain Glitter Boss, told the Mirror: “This devastating case highlights a systemic issue in healthcare where women’s concerns are often dismissed or minimised, leading to catastrophic consequences. As a neuroscience expert and psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience, I’ve witnessed countless instances where women’s physical and psychological symptoms are not taken seriously enough.
“The dismissal of Ms. Dray’s request for antibiotics, despite presenting with a high fever, represents a dangerous pattern of medical gaslighting. When healthcare providers dismiss legitimate concerns, they’re not just making a medical error – they’re perpetuating a culture that can have life-altering consequences, as tragically demonstrated in this case.”
She continued: “The psychological impact of such medical negligence extends far beyond the physical trauma. It creates deep-seated trust issues with healthcare systems and can trigger long-lasting trauma responses that affect both mental and physical well-being.
“This case should serve as a stark wake-up call for medical institutions worldwide to examine their implicit biases and establish more robust protocols for taking women’s health concerns seriously. It’s not just about medical competence – it’s about acknowledging and addressing the systemic biases that continue to put women’s lives at risk.”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
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