Demetrius Neffertiti Simms (“Meech”)
My daughter Demetrius Neffertiti Simms (Meech) passed away on May 25, 2011, of sepsis. Meech went to the hospital for an in/out surgery the day before thanksgiving 2010. She came home with a high fever and her surgical scar was oozing puss. I called the doctor’s office and was told this was normal, and to watch her over the long weekend. (Sepsis and Surgery)
By December 1, 2010, she had a full blown infection. She needed immediate surgery. Her upper arm was completely cleaned out and a wound vac was placed over the wound to grow the flesh back. The doctors called the infection Ecoli. Meech was in and out of the hospital for weeks and months; she lost her ability to walk, suffered with constant back pain, low blood pressure and constant diarrhea. Meech seemed to be recovering. The arm was healing and she had plastic surgery to replace the lost skin on her arm.
Then one day she began to hallucinate and would not wake up, I rushed her to the hospital. She stayed that way for three days. She was released from the hospital and life went back to normal. She started taking physical therapy to regain her mobility. Everything seem to be working out smoothly. Then she developed this strange rash, and no matter what the doctors prescribed, it would not heal. She had drainage, rawness, it was very painful.
Early one Monday morning I heard her cry out and I ran to see what was wrong. She was having hallucinations, back pain, and could not comprehend anything I said to her. I called the rescue squad; they took her to the hospital. Once they assessed her condition, the ER doctor on duty called me out of the room and asked me how long I was going to do this same thing to Meech. I looked at him like a deer in headlights, I did not understand what he was talking about. He then went on to tell me he read her history, and knew that she was here on a weekly basis. He felt I was doing her an injustice because she was not going to get better. They would do all they could for her, but her condition would not change. I then explained to him that this is the first time anyone has ever told me that. Then they asked me if she had any written statement about being resuscitated, I told him no. They then asked me if I would like to call my family so we could make a decision as a family concerning her condition.
In the end, Meech developed pneumonia overnight, her organs began to shut down, and she died 2 days later. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) On her death certificate, the first time I heard this word “Sepsis.” Our lives will never be the same, we miss her so much.
Source: by Karen Simm's (Meech's mother)
