What is Sepsis? The Deathly Condition That Made LIV Golfer Marc Leishman’s Life Miserable Once

The Leishmans’ straight-out-of-a-fairytale love story began in 2007 in an almost dreamy fashion when the two went on a date while Marc Leishman was still trying to climb the ladders to PGA Tour success. Call it love at first sight or eventual success in a test of compatibility, the couple instantly hit it off and soon tied the knot and gave birth to two kids. However, their dreamy lives did not last long. Even before they hit the marks of a decade of togetherness, Audrey Leishman was engulfed in the ravages of her failing health in 2015. The golfer at that time was at Augusta prepping for the 2015 Masters.

But who was the culprit in the Leishman family’s difficult situation? This was Mrs. Leishman’s intense struggle with sepsis, which is a “rare, life-threatening complication of certain bacterial infections.” Alongside her diagnosis with Sepsis, she was also diagnosed with Toxic Shock Syndrome and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, the aftereffects of which lingered on for a few years and continue to trouble the LIV Golfer’s wife till today in the form of a significant loss of memory. Despite being given only “a 5-percent chance to live” by doctors at the moment, Audrey continues to live a normal life almost a decade later and has since given birth to their third child, Eva. But what does Leishman have to say as he drives down the traumatic nostalgia road?

Marc Leishman gets candid on his wife’s battle with sepsis and efforts since

The tumultuous times in the family’s life brought forth a difficult moment of choice. His wife continued to suffer from a condition like sepsis. In this disease, chemicals are released in the bloodstream to fight infection and trigger inflammation throughout the body, which often leads to damage in multiple organ systems, even sometimes resulting in organ failure and eventual death.

As per medical predictions at the time, the survival rate for Audrey Leishman remained low. This presented the present-time LIV golfer with a choice to quit his then-glorious golfing career and take care of the kids. He readily agreed to do so if the circumstances were to arise.

The family even took extreme measures, such as playing music and making videos with Mrs. Leishman’s kids. People also told white lies full of hope to Audrey because doctors believed that patients like Audrey in an induced state could hear what happens in their surroundings.

Thankfully for the LIV Golf Pro’s family, Audrey Leishman not only emerged victorious in her fight against sepsis, but she also opened a philanthropic organization to help other sepsis victims. Widely referred to as the Begin Again Foundation, this organization aims “to save lives through sepsis and toxic shock syndrome education and awareness, provide financial assistance to survivors and families, and support communities during times of crisis. 

Ever since the organization focused on early detection’s power to save lives, Leishman claims that “We’ve created, but mostly her, the foundation where we’ve helped thousands of families, given away, I think over $2 million to families who really need it, and a lot of good has come out of it, so we like to think that it happened to her because she could survive it and she was strong enough to do that and she had the will and the background to actually do some good things with it.”

Their unified mission to aid other, less-fortunate survivors has not been without hardship. However, the Aussie pro expresses, “As difficult as it was, a lot of good has come out of it, and it’s really given her a purpose in her life.” Despite recovering from sepsis, the aftereffects of the disease continue to engulf most survivors.

From a loss of memory to organ failure, multiple infections, fatigue, swollen limbs, and more, sepsis remains one of the most dreaded yet increasingly common diseases. But what has acted as a ray of hope in these dark times?

What about the “miracle” that happened in the couple’s life after the famous pro’s wife’s life-and-death battle?

The Warrnambool-born and his wife welcomed their miracle baby, Eva Leishman, on July 6th, 2017. Talking about his only daughter’s birth, Leishman said, “It was unlikely we were ever going to have more kids, and it looked like I wasn’t even going to have a wife there for a while, so we call her own miracle baby. To have a little girl and really complete our family has been great.”

Undoubtedly, this surprise knocked on their doorstep at a time when the family had lost all hope. After being told for a long time that Audrey Leishman has a low chance of survival, her welcoming a daughter was surely no less than a miracle.

Her health struggles, however, did not end with the birth of her only daughter. After going through several rounds of after-effects-related treatment, in May 2018, she underwent a tonsillectomy and spent most of the summer on antibiotics. She continues to suffer from memory problems; however, that does not seem to impede providing relief for victims of sepsis.