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Laila's story

During her three-year intensive treatment for bowel cancer, 31-year-old Laila Hudson developed an antibiotic-resistant infection. With her immune system already weakened by chemotherapy treatment, she endured sepsis, required an emergency operation and faced delays to her critical, impending cancer surgery.

Laila collaborated with Story Bug, a Foundation-funded project, that helps people to share their experiences of antimicrobial resistance.

This time was different.

Laila Hudson in hospital with tube attached to her face Laila pictured in hospital.

“I knew immediately something was seriously wrong.”

“Sharp pain in my abdomen tore me abruptly from my sleep. I knew immediately something was seriously wrong.

This was not the first time we [Laila and her flatmate] had rushed to the hospital in the dead of night. Three years of intensive treatment for bowel cancer meant I knew all too well how unpredictable and perilous the trek up the mountain of treatment could be.

Toxic chemotherapy drugs destroyed, not just cancer cells, but healthy cells too, giving rise to terrifying complications.

My bowel had perforated, made weak from the powerful drugs that were supposed to be keeping me alive, allowing bacteria to flood into my abdomen through my blood and around my body. My immune system was fragile from the chemotherapy, meaning I’d had multiple courses of lifesaving antibiotics over the course of my cancer treatment. But this time was different. They didn’t work.”

What is antimicrobial resistance?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to human health, killing 1.2 million people in 2019 alone.

Antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs (such as antiviral and antiparasitic drugs) are vital to preventing and treating illnesses, diseases and infections and making surgeries and cancer treatments safer.

However, the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials cause bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi to gradually adapt and become resistant to medicine. This means infections are becoming increasingly difficult or even impossible to treat.

Petri dish being picked up by a gloved hand
A researcher's gloved hand picks up a petri dish covered in bacteria.



“Life-threatening sepsis set in.”

“My infection was resistant to treatment. Life threatening sepsis set in. My temperature soared. My blood pressure plummeted, and my heart pounded frantically in my chest as it pumped the infection through my veins. The surgeon’s face was grave.

‘We have to operate now to control the infection. Otherwise,’ his voice trailed off.

‘I will die from it,’ I said, completing his sentence. No one responded. Terror gripped every atom of my being. The realisation that I might not wake up from this operation gripped me with an icy shock.”

Laila in hospital
Laila's infection delayed vital treatment during her hospital stay.


“I thought it was the cancer that would kill me. Now I wondered whether a resistant infection might be a more imminent threat.”

“The infection delayed some crucial lifesaving surgery I desperately needed, giving the cancer the time to rapidly grow and spread.

After weeks of treatment, the infection eventually resolved and my chemotherapy recommenced. The thundering wind died down a little.

Antibiotic resistance is a formidable storm, one that for immunocompromised patients we no control over. Our only option is to focus on the map that outlines the twisting routes ahead, the tools at hand. Antibiotics are one of those tools.”

A view across a mountain top
"I knew all too well how unpredictable and perilous the trek up the mountain of treatment could be."



AMR conference 2023 94 Medium Becky McCall, pictured at our conference on antimicrobial resistance research.


Story Bug was founded by Becky McCall, a PhD student on our National PhD Training Programme in AMR Research, based at UCL’s Institute of Health Informatics. Storybug advocates for the careful use of antibiotics and shares the stories of those who have been affected by drug-resistant infections through digital storytelling. The project aims to reshape how we think about and value antibiotics and raise awareness about this health threat.

To contribute or hear more stories about antimicrobial resistance, visit the Story Bug website.

Hear more of Laila's experience in video format with The False Peak - her digital story:

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Laila walking through a hospital building