Mum's Finger Blemish Blamed on Newspaper Ink—Just Days Later, Her Arm Was Amputated, and Months After, She Tragically Passed Away

DAYS before her arm was amputated, Lorraine Pettie noticed the tips of her fingers turning a purple colour.

At first, the 52-year-old put the discolouration down to bruising from her finger-prick tests, a daily check to monitor her .

Lorraine Pettie, 52, front right, with her sister Alexis Pettie, 49, front left, and daughter Nadia Pettie, 31, back leftCredit: Kennedy News Lorraine in hospital after the tissues in her right arm started to die due to a blood clotCredit: Kennedy News

But, as the blemish spread from her fingers to her hand turning black in October 2024, the mum-of-one sought help, visiting urgent care at Western General Hospital in .

There, Lorraine’s daughter Nadia Pettie claims a nurse questioned whether her mum had been reading old newspapers, believing the ink had stained her fingers purple.

Nadia, a 31-year-old nursery practitioner, insisted her mum didn’t read newspapers and claims the hospital then suspected the mark was bruising after X-rays revealed no broken bones.

After being sent home, the purple colouring continued to spread down Lorraine’s hand, prompting the family to take her to The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where doctors confirmed , where the tissues had died, as a result of a blood clot cutting off blood supply.

Days later, Lorraine – a former chef – was told her arm needed to be when an operation revealed the had spread internally.

After a month in hospital, the mum was discharged home but sadly her health continued to deteriorate and she died in her sleep on December 28.

Now, Nadia and Lorraine’s sister, Alexis Pettie, believe both her arm and her life may have been saved if the necrosis was caught earlier.

Nadia, who lives in Edinburgh, , tells Sun Health: “When we went to the Western General, a nurse in minor injuries said, ‘Have you been looking at newspapers because it looks like ink on your fingers’.

“They said, ‘It’s like you’ve been holding onto an old newspaper and the ink has come off onto your fingers’.

“My mum doesn’t read newspapers or books, she’s a germ-freak. I was shocked and a bit confused. It was quite a random comment.

“As soon as they looked at the X-ray and saw there were no broken bones, they weren’t really interested.”

Alexis, who also lives in Edinburgh, adds: “A day or two before Lorraine went to hospital, the tips of all her fingers were turning blackish.

“Because she’s diabetic, she was testing her blood so thought it could be bruising from that.

“I wasn’t too concerned. We thought maybe she’d banged it or something.

“Then on October 18, 2024, it started spreading up her fingers onto her hand.

The right hand when it first began changing colourCredit: Kennedy News Doctors confirmed that Lorraine’s hand was necroticCredit: Kennedy News The necrosis had spread internally so the hand and arm had to be removedCredit: Kennedy News

“Her fingers were black when she went to the Western General Hospital. It looked like frostbite.

“After the X-ray, they said that nothing was broken and it was bruising and muscle damage.

“I’m assuming they thought she’d banged it and sent her home.”

‘It just kept creeping up her arm’

However, Lorraine decided to go to another hospital – The Royal Infirmary – two days later when the purple stains on her fingers continued to spread onto her hand.

Doctors confirmed Lorraine’s hand was necrotic and rushed her into theatre to try and remove the blood clot that had obstructed blood flow into her arm.

Lorraine was then transferred to St John’s Hospital in Livingstone where she underwent an of her right arm from below her shoulder.

Alexis, a 49-year-old barmaid, says: “I’m astounded [the first hospital] missed it. She went home and she just got worse. It kept creeping up her hand.

“Blood didn’t flow back into her arm. They have no idea what actually caused the clot. We don’t have any answers as to why that clot happened.

“We were told her body was just one massive infection.”

Lorraine’s right arm was amputated from below her shoulder

Two months later, Lorraine sadly died in her sleep due to , and – but her family believe her health rapidly deteriorated after the amputation of her arm.

Alexis said: “I think after having her arm amputated, she just didn’t have the fight anymore.

“I feel the Western General holds some responsibility. If they’d caught it earlier, I don’t think she’d have had to lose her whole arm.

“She might still be here if they didn’t send her home.”

Nadia adds: “If the hospital had taken it seriously, I don’t think she’d have needed her whole arm cut off. It might’ve only been her hand or fingers.

“It disgusts me. Her arm could’ve been saved. My mum was my everything. We might’ve had that little bit longer with my mum because it wasn’t until her amputation that her health really deteriorated even more.

“I don’t want someone else to go through the heartache and pain that me and my family went through.”

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director, NHS Lothian, said: “We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Ms Pettie.

“We were recently contacted by the family to discuss the case and have advised how they can progress a complaint.”

Two months after her arm was amputated, Lorraine sadly died in her sleepCredit: Kennedy News