Kathy Dunny

Survivor

I scratched my middle finger on my right hand towards the end on Nov. 2009. My daughter Shelly told me that I was not acting normal the first week of that December, so on Dec. 3rd, they called 911 and the ambulance took me to the ER. The hospital ran all kinds of test but not the correct one.

My neighbors asked about me, and my family told them what was going on. Well, as soon as they heard that I was talking like a alien, they told them to tell the doctors to check for sepsis and when they did, I was admitted to ICU in septic shock. I was put on a ventilator, had a feeding tube inserted and in an induced coma.

I spent over 20 days in the hospital, most of it in ICU. I still have no memory of it. When I finally realized something was going on, I was in a nursing home, I couldn’t walk, talk, breathe on my own, eat, or move my right side, among many other complications. My daughter who was a single mother of twins spent every night with me except one in the month of December. She even missed her babies’ first Christmas. She was too afraid to leave me. I was given my last rites twice in the hospital but I fought.

In the middle of Jan. 2010, I was starting to understand what I was going through. I had to learn how to breath without a trach, walk, go potty, swallow, and to do things with my left hand since I was right handed.

To make my long story shorter, I was released from the nursing home on 3-5-2010. I was away from home for 3 agonizing months. I had to have a oversized commode (because of doing things with my left hand), a bath seat, walker, and wheelchair. I lost all my hair in April but it did grow back in thicker and all gray. Because of my right foot having drop foot, I was fitted for a brace that I wore for about 8 months. I had a couple bouts with therapy. I started driving again after 8 months, then I conquered the basement stairs.

To this day, it’s only one step at a time but I am doing it. I can use my right hand but my middle finger does not bend much and I still have to use my left hand when using the potty. It took five years for me to get to the ground and up. It’s not easy but I am doing that also. Every day it’s still a fight within myself. I would never wish this to happen to anyone. My family tells me all the time that I am a miracle, but I feel like I am being punished. I had three big black furbabies at home that I missed so much and they missed me, the one that I was the closest to wouldn’t leave my side at home. My furbabies are all gone and my Mom has Alzheimers. I take care of her as much as I can and my daughter and other loved ones are only a few blocks away. I hope everyday that doctors can get a faster response for this and that no one ever has this happen to them.

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