Jason Kirchick

On an icy Sunday morning this past January, I woke up feeling ill, with a mild temperature. By the end of the week, my temperature had risen to 104.7, and I was on my way to Fletcher Allen (now the University of Vermont Medical Center). My body was in respiratory failure, and I was in septic shock. I was quickly intubated and put on dialysis. All my major organ systems were failing, and I was put in an induced coma for two months.

Several times I was given less than 24 hours to live, or at best, that I would live on a ventilator for the rest of my life. The next thing I remember was waking up in the MICU with a tracheostomy and people around my bed: I was the miracle patient who survived H1N1 in the Fletcher Allen MICU and was grateful that my life had been saved. (Sepsis and Influenza)

After three months of hospitalization, I returned home.

I continue to battle with the after effects of my illness. Through my experience, I have decided to go into nursing and try to advocate for others who have had similar experiences. There is a book by Gary Black called ‘Gyroscope: A Survival of Sepsis,’ which was given to me by a close friend who is a nurse. The experiences shared in the book were very hard for me to handle. So much so that I couldn’t even finish the book at first. Ironically there is very little written about sepsis. I hope to one day share my story so that others (families, patients and medical professionals) will have a voice and resource to go to.

I am working on PTSD (Sepsis and PTSD) issues that stemmed from my illness and hospitalization. I am finding that many people experience trauma after a severe illness/ hospitalization but often do not seek out the help. My story gained national attention and I continue to speak at conferences and with medical professionals in hopes that my story will continue to be heard and make impact for better changes in healthcare.

Here is a link to one story that was covered: WCAX.