MP Craig Mackinlay shared the harrowing final video before having both his “useless” hands and feet amputated after horrific sepsis left them “dead” and “gnarled”.
The South Thanet Conservative MP, 57, said he was “lucky to be alive” after the horrific illness which first struck him in September left him with four prosthetics.
He woke up from a 16-day coma in November with completely blackened limbs, due to clots and lack of circulation caused by his illness.
Mr Mackinlay recorded from his hospital bed at St Thomas’ Hospital in London on November 30, two months after his admission, showing his blackened arms and feet the day before they were removed.
“The reality is I probably shouldn’t have survived this far,” he said.
He said sepsis had caused my hands and feet to “completely die”.
“The reason I’m making this video today is of course because it’s the last time these old things that have served me well for 57 years will be attached to me.
“They look more like bogs. They are sort of gnarled, dry, dried out. It will be like saying goodbye to old friends.
MP Craig Mackinlay has broken his silence after losing his hands and feet to sepsis, admitting he was “lucky to be alive” after the horrific illness left him with four limbs prosthetics.
‘BIONIC MP’: Curator Craig Mackinlay pictured at home wearing his prosthetic limbs
The Conservative MP for South Thanet, 57, is expected to return to Parliament after nearly dying from a life-threatening illness in September.
Craig Mackinlay and his wife Kati arrive at the Thanet South constituency counting center on May 8, 2015 ahead of being elected as a local MP.
Mr Mackinlay had to have significant parts of his arms and legs removed to save his life. But the defiant parliamentarian said he is now ready to return to Parliament – and wants to be known as the ‘bionic MP’.
And speaking to GB News today, he said: “The price I’m going to pay to live is a pretty serious handicap.”
Regarding the appearance of his arms and feet, he added that they “turned completely black – they looked like pharaoh’s arms, sort of dug out of the desert.”
But he seemed optimistic, saying he hoped he “could be a little bigger” with his new bionic limbs.
The Kent MP started feeling unwell on September 27 but thought it was no worse than the beginnings of a cold, and he even took a Covid test which came back negative.
But Kati, his pharmacist wife, became more concerned about her husband’s health throughout the night after testing his blood pressure and temperature. And she couldn’t even feel the pulse in his cold arms in the morning.
Speaking to GB News, Ms Mackinlay said: “At first the ambulance didn’t want to take him to hospital. The only bad marker he had was the sugar level which was very very low but once he had breakfast it came back.
“They were wondering whether to see his GP or take him urgently to hospital.”
She said they “fortunately” chose to send for an ambulance, but when it arrived, “things started to speed up.”
Mr Mackinlay was suffering from DIC – an uncontrollable sepsis infection.
He had suffered multiple organ failure and started turning blue after being rushed to hospital as sepsis took hold.
**WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW**
Craig Mackinlay pictured at St Thomas Hospital on November 30 with blackened limbs after suffering sepsis
“It had gone completely black – they looked like pharaohs’ arms, sort of dug out of the desert.”
Craig MacKinlay outside 10 Downing Street for a cabinet meeting on September 2, 2019
In December, he said he was “extremely lucky to be alive” after undergoing “extreme surgery”.
But today he detailed the harrowing episode in full, including waking up at St Thomas’ Hospital to find his limbs had turned black.
Mr Mackinlay’s situation quickly escalated. After feeling slightly ill one night in late September, he was seriously ill during the night, and by morning his wife could no longer feel his pulse.
Shocking footage shows the MP looking at his affected limbs before they were removed.
“I could see black arms and my wife was explaining what happened,” he told GB News.
“I think I was still in the highs of fentanyl and everything else at that point, so I was in and out of lucidity. But I could see that these things (hands) were probably lost.
“It became obvious. My fingers were completely frozen into a closed fist. As for my toes, I could move a few toes on my left leg but there was some sort of little sign of life in them.
“Maybe they could have saved a little bit of the foot, but my surgeon said ‘it’s better to take them out’ because you can have prosthetics and you’ll walk much better than having a partial foot.”
Doctors were even considering the possibility of giving a do-not-resuscitate order if his heart stopped.
Craig Mackinlay spoke to GB News about his sepsis ordeal ahead of his return to Parliament
But he took his first 20 steps unassisted after the February 28 operation, marking a major milestone in his recovery after a dark Christmas period. Fortunately, he said, his four-year-old daughter Olivia handled the situation well.
Sepsis occurs when the immune system overreacts to an infection.
In 2016, the Daily Mail launched the End the Sepsis Scandal campaign following the tragic case of William Mead, who died aged 12 months after a series of errors and misdiagnoses.
But despite the trauma, Mr Mackinlay said he was “ready to get back in the saddle” and serve his constituents – as well as inspire the next generation.
First elected in 2015, the outspoken MP even declared that he would run in the next election.
He added: “(I want) to get back to the things that I really enjoy. Speak up again for the people of South Thanet, get ready for this election and try to get some decent manifesto points with the pressure I am willing to take.
“I hope people will give me the benefit of the doubt and say, ‘This man fought for himself, he’s going to fight very well for me, I’m going to support him.’
“The Bionic MP is what I want to be. When children come to Parliament and go to the gallery or the school section which Parliament does very well, I want them to pull on their mother’s coat and say: “I want to see the bionic MP today.” This is what I want to do.
He said losing his hands was the hardest thing to deal with and that prosthetic replacements would “never be the same again”.
He told the BBC: “You don’t realize how much you do with your hands: use your phone, hold your child’s hand, touch your wife, do the garden.”
Paying tribute to Mr Mackinlay following the announcement, former Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick posted on X: “An exceptionally brave man.
“Looking forward to welcoming you back to Westminster.”
Conservative MP Mark Jenkinson said: “Craig’s story is remarkable.
“His courage and strength, along with those of his wife Kati and daughter Olivia, are incredible.”
Conservative MP Marco Longhi said: “Great to see Craig again! I know it is frowned upon to applaud in the House, but I would find it hard not to. Hero.’
Dr Neil Hudson, another Conservative MP, added: “Craig is an inspiration and is courageously raising awareness of the risks of sepsis.”
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