‘My blood turned to ice’: Jo Whiley used Martha’s Rule when her daughter showed signs of sepsis and urges parents to ‘be aware’

Jo Whiley has shared a terrifying account of her daughter's recent illness, urging parents to be aware of Martha's Rule after she wanted a second opinion when sepsis was suspected.

Speaking on the Dig It podcast she hosts with friend Zoe Ball, Jo explains that her youngest child, Coco, recently celebrated her 18th birthday.

However, shortly after the festivities, "It all went wrong." Coco had been taking antibiotics for an ear infection, but just after her birthday, "Started being sick, and couldn't keep her antibiotics down."

After being "unbelievably sick all day long," Coco was feverish, and when Jo had to leave for work, left her other daughter India to watch over her sister.

While at work, Jo received a message that made her blood run cold. It read, "Hospital, sepsis, come home."

"You know when your blood turns to ice, it was absolutely terrifying," Jo shares, adding, "She had gotten worse and worse, and India went to check on her. She took her to the doctors, and the doctor said that she was presenting signs of sepsis."

Coco was given intravenous antibiotics and taken to hospital. By the time Jo and her husband Steve arrived, Jo describes her daughter as "super poorly."

"Just that word, 'sepsis,' I would never in a million years have thought of sepsis," Jo reveals, adding, "You don't think about illnesses like that."

While she with Coco in hospital, Jo recalls "really stressing out and really panicking," because she wanted her child treated quickly.

"And then I remembered Martha's Rule," she says. "I don't know whether you're aware of this, but it's from Martha Mills who died um in 2021 - her parents have pushed through this rule."

Martha Mills was just 13-years-old when she passed away in 2021 after developing sepsis. The teenager had been taken to King's College Hospital in London after a cycling accident in which she fell onto the handlebars of her bike.

She was left with serious injuries to her pancreas, and while in hospital her family's concerns were not listened to. When Martha died, her parents, Merope and Paul, created change to the culture of not being able to challenge medical professionals by pushing through the rule named after their child.

Martha's Rule allows patients, relatives and staff in A&E to call a dedicated phone number to trigger an urgent review of a patient's condition if they're deteriorating and concerns aren't being heard.

The rule will eventually be expanded to all inpatient wards. Jo says the rule is "good to know if you're not confident in what's happening in the moment, you can ask the doctors for a second opinion."

Jo reveals, "We did at some point raise that," and used her right to get that second opinion. "I would just say to everyone, just be aware of Martha's Rule," she says, adding, "It was an invaluable comfort for us, and it felt really important that it exists now."

The presenter continues, "I'm very grateful to Martha's parents for pushing that through."

Even though Coco didn't have sepsis and is now recovering, Jo shares, "The the post-traumatic stress is quite real." She says Coco has been left "absolutely petrified" after feeling while in hospital that she just wanted to close her eyes but couldn't, because she was "scared I'm going to die."

Jo has needed to reassure her, telling Coco, "It's OK, you're not going to die. You're going to be fine." She adds, "But that was in her head, and she's been very, very scared ever since then."

Coco has since returned to school, but remains "nervy, very battered and fragile" after her experience.

When asked if they were ever given the cause of Coco's rapid deterioration, Jo says, "The specialist in ears and throat came out in the middle of the night and said she'd got a really bad middle ear infection," but they were never told why she was "being sick so much."

Jo concludes, "I have no idea. She was so dehydrated, she was on um drip for that as well. We just don't really know."