Arlene S. Flores

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Len and Nel’s Story

My name is Nel. I am an engineer and my fiancée, Len, is a teacher. Our marriage was scheduled last April 21, 2016. We were both excited for this momentous event of our life, until a terrible nightmare happened to us last March.

In the midnight of March 4, 2016, Len complained about her sore throat to me. It’s not a new story for me since she was always experiencing that. The next day in the morning, she had fever and cold. She felt terribly ill. I visited her in her home and had her checked up by her doctor. According to the doctor, Len had tonsillitis, causing the fever. He gave Len antibiotics and paracetamol for a week.

She took all the medicines but her situation did not get better. While I was working in the office, Len told me that she was trying to sleep, to escape from the feeling. She also vomited and had no appetite for food. I was trying to convince her to take her to the hospital but she refused, saying that she will get better the next day. But nothing happened, until on March 7, 2016, we decided to send her to a public hospital.

There, their initial findings was dengue. (I never questioned the findings since Len had already had dengue way back in 2013). For 2 days, I literally babysst her. She couldn’t walk on her own and had no control to her bowel movements. After 2 days in the hospital, she complained about a pain in her back. She was transferred to another hospital for X-ray tests and it was fJpegound out that she has pneumonia. The doctors were also suspecting her to have a leukemia because of her pale skin but it still need further examination. (Sepsis and Pneumonia)

I was devastated after knowing her case. But I was more frustrated when I saw the medical personnel not accommodating the patients properly. I was angered when I saw Len was not getting better. She was confused. Her heart beat so fast and she looked really sick. At that time, I decided to rush her to a private hospital. There, at the emergency room, the doctor told me about my fiancée case, after reading her CBC. The doctor suspected it was SEPSIS. This was the first time I heard the word. The pneumonia seemed to be the cause of sepsis but the source of pneumonia is not yet known. He told me about it and the procedure they would do to Len. He was brutally frank about what Len was going through and told me that it is only fate that will dictate if she will survive. I never realized the seriousness of Len’s case until he said that.

Len was admitted to the ICU. She was experiencing a high risk sepsis, according to the doctor. Her blood pressure was overwhelmingly low. It was 60/40. Her breathing was abnormal. She was dying. I cried so loud that I began to wish it was only a bad dream. I was on the brink of losing the love of my life. I pleaded days and night in prayers to God. I fasted and prayed for her healing, but on March13, 2016, she gave up the fight. I was with her during the battle and I saw her hardships. I cannot imagine the pain she had gone through. I tried my best to save her but what she got is a silent killer less known to the world. And the medical personnel who handled Len seemed to be not ready and equipped in early diagnosing sepsis and appropriate treatment to be administered to the patient. The detection of the source of pneumonia took so long and when they found out that it was fungal, it was too late already. (Sepsis and Fungal Infections) So manJpegy lessons that I have learned in this nightmare. How I wish I could turn back the hands of time. I will trade anything or everything just to have her back.

Len was the best I ever had. I cannot write everything how I feel right now but I chose to stay positive despite this nightmare. It was a terrible blow to my life. I lost my best friend, my life, my eternal companion. But as Len said when she was in the ICU, it’s part of God’s plan. So I hold on now to the God whom she believes in.

I am a different person now. I am living like everyday is my last day. I became more aware of health now and I am raising awareness to the people around me about the culprit that killed my fiancée. This is to spare them from this pain that kills me everyday.

Source: by Ronnel Capati Quinto (Arlene's fiance)

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