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A young man was left fighting for his life in a coma after his symptoms of a blood infection were dismissed as the flu. Devan Hopkins, 24, first started feeling unwell in October last year but was told by a doctor that he was experiencing winter flu symptoms.
But a few weeks later he was suffering from severe headaches and exhaustion. Despite having two blood tests he was prescribed migraine tablets.
These did nothing and his headaches got worse. In the meantime he was also rapidly shedding weight, losing around four kilos.
Although he wasn’t sure if he should travel due to his health, labourer Devan went on a planned holiday with his then girlfriend to Prague. But he returned looking “gaunt and pale”.
Devan said: “When they [his parents] saw me, they were shocked and extremely worried at how gaunt and pale I had become. Looking back at photos now it’s quite shocking to see how thin I had become in such a short space of time.”
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He went again to his doctor where he underwent further blood tests and was told he had a heart murmur.
Devan, from Morecambe in Lancashire, said: “Normally I’m really fit and healthy and have only occasionally needed to go to the doctor.
“A few weeks later, I went back to the doctor for more blood tests.
“By this point, the infection markers and other blood markers had gone through the roof and it was on this appointment that the doctor heard a loud heart murmur.
“We had no idea the nightmare that was ahead.”
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After discovering the heart murmur he was referred to the Lancaster Royal Infirmary where an echocardiogram revealed he was suffering from infective endocarditis – an infection caused by bacteria that enter the bloodstream.
Further tests showed Devan had a bicuspid heart valve, which occurs when the aortic valve only has two flaps instead of the usual three.
He was then transferred to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Lancashire, for surgery to replace his aortic valve, repair his mitral valve and remove an abscess on the aorta.
The operation was due to last six hours but 13 hours later the surgeon told Devan’s parents, Tracy and Glen Hopkins, both 54, that the procedure had been “complex”.
Devan was in critical condition as they discovered that had strep, pneumonia and sepsis which wreaked havoc on his body and he was placed in an induced coma over Christmas.
He said: “Not only had I got strep and pneumonia I also had got sepsis which had wreaked havoc on my heart and lungs.
“The surgeons and theatre team had worked tirelessly to save my life, they had done everything they could to save me but I was now in a critical condition and on life-support.
“My family and ex-girlfriend stayed with me, praying and hoping for a miracle.”
Devan then spent 10 days on life-support with his family not knowing if he would wake up.
“The next few days and weeks went by in a blur they say, waiting and watching, holding my hand, constantly talking to me and telling me to keep fighting,” he said.
“My sister, Poppy Hopkins, 23, got all my friends and family to send messages to her and she would play them to me to see if I would respond.
“Occasionally, I would twitch or move a finger, my family knew I was still in there and hanging on.
“Although they say, they were deeply traumatised and devastated seeing me hooked up to all the wires and life-support they made their minds up they would try to keep positive at all costs.”
Devan was brought off life-support on December 27 last year and spent a further 14 days in the hospital.
“When I left the hospital it was quite an emotional moment for my family and me, I know they had always believed that I was going to come around but there was always that worry I might not,” he recalled.
Devan’s story has been shared as part of the British Heart Foundation’s A Gift That Keeps on Living to highlight the importance of research into heart and circulatory diseases.
To donate visit bhf.org.uk/Christmas.
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