ByEmma SandersBBC Sport women’s football news reporter
- Published26 minutes ago
Burnley manager Jackie Bachteler will be in the dugout at Turf Moor on Sunday for the first time – but nine months ago she was fighting for her life.
The American joined the club in December to work with the women’s first team and men’s academy, full of excitement for the next step in her coaching career.
But three weeks later, Bachteler was rushed to A&E and 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 today, but it has given 37-year-old Bachteler a new perspective on life.
When Burnley host Sunderland in the Women’s Super League 2 on Sunday (14:00 BST), Bachteler will reflect on her journey as it coincides with World Sepsis Day.
This is her story and why she feels it is important to share it.
‘I knew something was wrong’
Image source, Jackie Bachteler
Bachteler moved from San Diego to join Burnley’s coaching staff in December 2025 and after a few weeks she thought jet lag and a busy schedule had led to a common cold.
But she walked into the training ground one morning and “the whole room spun”. She tried to get fresh air but was struggling to breathe.
She instantly knew something was wrong and called for a club doctor. The men’s team doctor was on site and checked her over.
Her blood pressure dropped quickly and her oxygen levels were really low. She was immediately rushed to hospital and Bachteler feared the worst.
“To be honest, I thought I was going to die. I just had this feeling in my body like ‘this is it’. I knew something was wrong,” Bachteler told BBC Sport.
“They gave me some treatment for my lungs and then they tried to send me home, but I knew something wasn’t right and asked them to do more.
“They checked my blood pressure and it just plummeted. Then I couldn’t walk. I was so dizzy and really confused. I was getting blotches on my skin.
“They did a blood test and all of a sudden four or five doctors were sprinting towards me. I had two IVs with fluids and antibiotics, as well as [an] oxygen [mask].”
Bachteler was given a room in the intensive care unit [ICU] for a couple of days as medical staff tested her blood every 20 minutes and her organs.
Her family, from the United States, could not travel over, while her wife, based in Finland, was stuck in a snowstorm.
Bachteler was alone in hospital and did not know fully what was going on.
“On my third day in hospital, I tried to stand up and I couldn’t. The nurses told me not to walk and when you hear that it’s a bit of an alarm bell,” she said.
“It was just lung treatment after lung treatment, fluids after fluids, antibiotics and everything else. I had to get help to use the bathroom.
“It was close to when you face your mortality. It just gives you another perspective on life.”
Image source, Jackie Bachteler
The toll it took on her family
Bachteler had to learn to walk again and put her coaching career on hold until Burnley welcomed her back in July as their new women’s team manager.
She is still not fully recovered and suffers with post-sepsis syndrome, which leads to dizzy spells and extreme fatigue.
During a pre-season friendly a few weeks ago, Bachteler became unwell.
“It was so hot with the sun facing the bench. I got up in the second half and it was like when you have too much wine, you get up and you’re like, ‘woah!’
“I was just so dizzy. I gave the instruction, talked to the team and then I went to the cafe on site and said to them: ‘Can I sit in your freezer?’
“I just needed to calm down. Then I started crying because my nervous system is still recovering and it’s just been really, really hard.”
Bachteler praises Burnley’s support throughout the process, saying that club doctors “saved her life” and have put her in touch with a respiratory specialist.
She has received supportive messages from players and has been able to delegate jobs to her coaching staff, who she describes as “phenomenal”.
Her family have also supported her – but it has been mentally tough.
Bachteler recalls a day in May when her parents flew over from the US and she had to leave a restaurant because of extreme dizziness.
“We went for Sunday dinner and it was loud. I just got so dizzy and they could see it. As we were walking back, I was shaking and I didn’t know where I was,” she said.
“They started crying, both of them. I think it was even harder for them. I get emotional any time I talk about my family with this.
“When my wife was able to see me [in hospital], she just started crying because of the amount of weight I lost.
“I’m really athletic and I’m really fit, but then I wasn’t able to walk. She had to hold me up going down the stairs.”
Bachteler continues to have respiratory therapy to improve her lungs.
She still struggles with fatigue, mental fog, memory loss and trembles if she becomes too exhausted, as well as suffering from regular dizzy spells.
“I’m definitely in a good way though. I’m about 70 to 80% Jackie again and that’s thanks to the club, the doctors here and the NHS – but it was close.
“If I had gone home that day when the emergency room tried to send me back, I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
Why raising awareness is crucial
Image source, Burnley FC
Bachteler says she leaves work every day thankful for a second chance and remains grateful to the support of staff members at Burnley.
The near-death experience has helped put football into perspective too.
“A loss is a loss. I really believe in what I’m doing and in the people that I’m doing it with. Now the worst thing that will happen is that we lose a game,” she said.
Her experience will make Sunday’s occasion at Turf Moor even more special and Bachteler hopes she can use it to raise awareness of the symptoms of sepsis.
“I realised it’s a leading cause of death. I didn’t even know what sepsis was before. I thought it was something you heard on Grey’s Anatomy,” said Bachteler.
“I didn’t understand the severity of it and how much it’s missed by doctors. The amount of people that have been affected really shocked me. It’s a silent killer.
“Hopefully I can use the game as a tool to help others recognise the signs and let them know they are not alone. Over 50% of survivors have [post-sepsis syndrome].
“To be standing on the pitch, doing something that I love, that I’ve dreamed of doing every single day and knowing that wouldn’t have been the case almost a year ago, it’s a bit poetic it’s on World Sepsis Day.”