Burnley Women boss bravely opens up on sepsis battle that left her fighting for her life

Burnley Women boss Jackie Bachteler has bravely opened up on her battle with sepsis that left her fighting for her life.

While the American was officially appointed to her role this July, Bachteler actually first arrived in East Lancashire in December 2025 to support the “strategic development” of the club’s women’s and academy sides.

But shortly after her appointment, the 37-year-old was rushed to A&E after falling unwell while at work at Gawthorpe. After being admitted to hospital, she was diagnosed with sepsis - a life-threatening illness that left her bedridden for days.

It took her months to recover and she still suffers from regular post-sepsis symptoms, but fortunately Bachteler is now able to back to work with the help and support from loved ones, friends, family and her work colleagues.

“When I first came to Burnley in December, I felt a little bit sick but I didn’t realise it was anything serious, I thought it was just a cold,” she told Burnley’s official website.

“I had moved my life across here, so I just thought it was jet-lag or I was feeling a little under the weather.

“But then after Christmas, I had to show up here [at Gawthorpe], I’m in the cafeteria and I’m speaking to one of the men’s assistants. It was one of my first times speaking with him. I can speak Swedish, I’m speaking Swedish with him, but the whole room just spins.

“I didn’t want to say anything, so I just sat down. Maybe I just needed some water. But everything kept spinning.

“I wrote to our team doctor and he passed me to Will [Allingham] on the men’s side. He took my vitals and they were quite low, but I didn’t think it was anything serious and I went out to the field to set up and see the women’s training.

“But as I walk out, the whole field spins and all I think of is: ‘I’m going to die, right here’.

“I ended up in hospital for 10, 12 days. They looked at all of my results and they told me I had sepsis, but it was actually very severe sepsis.

“They told me this is why I couldn’t walk, because I was trembling, my lungs were a mess. I got dizzy, I couldn’t drive. All I was doing was sleeping.

“If I got up to make a glass of water or eat something, all I would do is sleep for three hours afterwards.

“The club stuck by my side. The owners, everybody, the team, Ross [Wallace], the players, Ash [Vickers].

“Even coming back into it, it was learning how to walk again, how to go up and down stairs again, how to be a new manager because I’m a very active manager, but I can’t be as active anymore.”

Bachteler was keen to open up about her journey ahead of this afternoon’s game against Sunderland, which will be her first time in the dugout at Turf Moor.

The fixture coincides with World Sepsis Day.

“It was just so scary, probably the scariest thing I’ve been through health-wise,” she added.

“I can’t reiterate the support I felt from everybody to help me back. Still to this day, I feel like I’m 80 per cent Jackie, I don’t feel 100 per cent.

“It’s a silent killer and I want to bring awareness to that.”

To find out more or to access support, visit www.sepsistrust.org