"Bionic MP": U.K. Legislator Returns to Parliament After Losing Hands and Feet to Septic Shock

Britain's Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay returns to work after having both his hands and feet amputated after he contracted sepsis. Mackinlay was rushed to hospital in September last year and spent 16 days in an induced coma before undergoing a quadruple amputation in December.

Craig Mackinlay, a Conservative member of the U.K. Parliament representing South Thanet, is returning to work after losing both his hands and feet to septic shock. He hopes to embrace a new title: the "Bionic MP."

Mackinlay fell seriously ill on September 27 last year. After a negative COVID test, he went to sleep, but by morning, his pharmacist wife, Kati, noticed his arms were cold and without a pulse. He was rushed to the hospital, where his body turned a strange blue, and he was diagnosed with septic shock and placed in a coma for over two weeks.

Craig Mackinlay says he now wants to be known as the first ‘bionic MP’, after he was fitted with prosthetic legs and hands.

Septic shock, the most severe stage of sepsis, can cause multiple organ failure and is potentially fatal. Health care workers informed Kati that Mackinlay was "one of the illest people they'd ever seen" with only a 5% chance of survival. When he woke up, his arms and legs had turned black, necessitating the amputation of his hands and feet on December 1. The sepsis also left him with facial and gum scarring, resulting in loose teeth.

Despite the severity of his condition, Mackinlay remained stoic. He soon received prosthetics for his limbs, but the adjustment process was challenging. By February 28, after weeks of building muscle and adapting to his new reality, he took his first steps on his own.

MP Craig Mackinlay was admitted to hospital in September after being diagnosed with septic shock.

"Walking was my sign of success," Mackinlay said, though he admitted that adapting to prosthetic hands was more difficult. "The hands are a real loss," he noted, expressing the challenges of everyday tasks like using a phone, holding his child's hand, and touching his wife.

Refusing to dwell on his limitations, Mackinlay is determined to use his experience to educate others about sepsis. He aims to inspire and educate visitors to Parliament, especially children, by becoming known as the "bionic MP."

"When children come to Parliament's fantastic education center, I want them to be pulling their parents' jackets or skirts or their teacher and saying: 'I want to see the bionic MP today,'" he said. "You've got to be cheerful and positive about things you can do, and I find every day there's something new that I can do."