Kathy Jones

September 18th, 2012 – I remember lying on the couch that night. I could not pick my head up. I couldn’t pick up a leg. I could not turn over. My head was absolutely splitting. When I finally managed to sit up, I threw up. Then I needed to use the bathroom.

What a trip that was! It felt like I was trying to walk on a boat that was rocking tremendously. I banged into a wall but that didn’t wake my husband or son. I tried to sit on the commode, but I totally missed it and fell to the floor. That did wake up my husband. He kept asking me, “What’s going on?” and “What are you doing?” I couldn’t even answer him.

He helped me up and put me in our bed. Then I had to use the bathroom again. Same story, I couldn’t walk straight and kept falling over. I wasn’t able to hold my urine and wet the floor and my clothes. Husband carried me to bed again and kept asking what was wrong. I simply couldn’t answer him. By the third attempted trip to the bathroom, falling over, wetting my pajamas, my husband decided to call 911.

I remember the two EMTs, female and very kind. I couldn’t talk sensibly or clearly. I could think but the words came out in garbles. The EMTs said I had a high fever and that I was very sick. They loaded me into the ambulance and went to the hospital, about five minutes away. I barely remember being unloaded from the ambulance. I think I was passing out on the gurney because there are holes in my memory. I do remember a doctor leaning over me and telling me I had to go to ICU. He said, “You are a very sick girl.”

In ICU I still couldn’t move. It was like I had zero energy; like I’d been drained. I also kept on getting confused. It was the next day when the dr. told me I had sepsis. He asked me a zillion questions and finally I could answer him. I didn’t have any of the “normal” reasons for sepsis: no cuts, no burns, no surgery, nothing. I was put on a very strong antibiotic, which gave me the nastiest diarrhea I’ve ever had in my life.

It took awhile to get rid of the headache. The fourth day in ICU the doctor came in and said they could find no reason for the sepsis so it must be viral. I wasn’t very comforted by “it must be” but I was going to go home the next day.

After going home, I was pretty useless for a good two weeks. I started slowly getting my energy back and I took my meds daily (antibiotics). Now here I am four months later and I have to wonder if sepsis is responsible for my abnormal fatigue, sleepiness, etc.

I am so grateful that I was not a fatality. I realize I received excellent care and quick care. I would just like to be my old self again and I wonder if it’ll ever happen. I also worry a lot if the sepsis will come back.