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Lisa Richmond
Survivor
I was in ICU for 4.5 days then in Critical Care for 4 days. I had a pneumonia and sepsis! (Sepsis and Pneumonia) I was on 80mg steroids for a year then weaned off for another 4 months. It has been almost two years since I became ill! I have trouble breathing. If I carry heavy things, walk to much or just do house hold chores, then I have to sit and recoup. It is such a struggle to do things now, but I am a lot better than I was. My mind is not the same! Words don’t come out the way I mean at times and my memory is gone. Our house was burnt down by a neighbor kid (no insurance and was married 40 years at the time, lost my car and pet as well), then my husband got rear ended in a vehicle accident (so no income), which messed up his neck and shoulder. Then a few months later he was ill for months and come to find out he lost the thyroid in his throat and was living off the one in his brain and his kidneys are 57% gone, so then as he is getting back on his feet, I end up in bed felling like I was just drug out, like a cold was going to hit but hadn’t. Then I told my husband to take me in and I was told I had pneumonia, to go home take this big bag of medicine and go back in a week, which I did! Although by this time none of the medication made me feel any better and I couldn’t breath very well now. My immune system had shut down. 14 collapsed veins later and a team of 5 doctors I’m recovering, but I wonder if I will ever truly will completely recover, I guess only time will tell! I’m on medication for hypertension, blood pressure, arthritis, and stress now! Also the bottom right side of heart doesn’t work right. I have realistic dreams and trouble falling asleep. The doctor thinks that the high altitude and living in this small trailer (hidden mold) has a lot to do with my breathing not being up to par? It is nice to read what others have gone through as it helps me understand I’m not alone, and others have post symptoms as well! I never heard of sepsis until I got it!!! After reading what some of you are dealing with…what I’ve gone through is minor! Take care! Sepsis Survivor!!!
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Cathleen Luwisch
Tribute
Our mom was 64 years old and in generally good health. She fell ill over the weekend (August 2013) with vomiting. After 2 days with no improvement and seeming suddenly disoriented, my dad called 911. The ambulance arrived and loaded my mom in. She had a tachycardia episode requiring medication to steady her heart rate and blood pressure. At around 6:30 am she was admitted to the ER and diagnosed with low potassium and dehydration. We knew something was not right. They sent her upstairs to a general recovery floor to wait for the potassium and hydration to kick in. She had multiple signs of sepsis and even though protocol was in place and an alert was given, the doctor IGNORED it and missed our chance. Hours later a rash developed on my mom’s torso which finally caught the doctor’s attention and she was sent immediately to the ICU. She coded on arrival and had to be intubated. High doses of antibiotics were started and from then on things deteriorated. After 4 days of trying everything, our lovely mom passed away. Please push and advocate for yourself and loved ones. Doctors , nurses, and protocols don’t always know everything or work properly. In loving memory of our dear sweet Mommy. <3
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Dan Hitch
Survivor
August 07,2016 I checked in to hospital for a TURP pocedure. The procedure was performed and I spent the night in hospital out patient room. The doctor came in next morning checked me over had my catheter removed and discharged me. (Sepsis and Invasive Devices) My wife was on way to pick me up. I went to urinate and felt dizzy. The next thing I knew I was laying across bed and nurse came in and called hospitalist to the room. He took my BP and it was down to almost nothing. He called a Code Blue and a pulmonary doctor came and ordered for me to be rushed to ICU, where he cut by my clavical and the fatty part of my right palm and started to pump me full of antibiotics. I had an MRI before he did this. A lot of this is just fuzzy in my mind. I owe my life to these two hospitalists and pray for them and the ICU nurses. I’m 75 years old and sill having UTI which make me very worried.
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Kevin Wolfe
Tribute
My husband Kevin was diagnosed with lymphoma in November of 2016. He had been complaining of stomach pain for about three months prior. Kevin had gone to his doctor, went for an upper GI and lower GI and nothing was turning up. In the last weekend of October, Kevin went to Chicago for a concert to see one of his favorite bands. His stomach had been particularly bad that weekend, which to us was normal as he had always carried his stress and anxiety in his stomach. Obviously, because he had done the full blood work work up and gone to the doctor numerous times, we thought nothing of it. That morning while I was driving to MSP to pick him up, he texted me that he almost passed out in the airport after getting off of the plane. He told me his stomach was really bothering him and that something was clearly wrong. Once he got in the car, I told him we were going into the emergency room to get this figured out. The ER doctors did a full blood workup and nothing came up what so ever. They put him on pain medication and suggested a CT of the abdomen where the pain was. About an hour later the results came back and we learned that Kevin had a large mass on the lower right abdomen. We had the choice of admitting him or going home to schedule the surgery to remove the mass. He was admitted into the surgical specialties floor an hour and a half later. It took them 4 days to get him under the knife and remove the mass. Turns out, the mass was the size of a cantaloupe and had the characteristics of cancer. After waiting 5 days post op, we learned that Kevin had a very aggressive form of lymphoma, stage 2. After another week of recovery, Kevin got to come home for a couple of days and had a follow up appointment with the surgeon when they told him his uric acid was very high and he was very dehydrated and needed to be readmitted. This of course he hated as he said he felt fine but I knew it had to be done to try and get him feeling better. Luckily for me, I had the capability of working from the hospital as I telecommute. So I was able to be there every day, helping him with what he needed and ultimately be a caretaker when the nurses were not there. The next couple of weeks were a roller coaster. We were able to enjoy Thanksgiving (my birthday) and then he was starting chemo the following week, his first round of R-CHOP therapy. Kevin’s first round of chemo went decently smoothly. He only had one day where was incredibly uncomfortable with the treatment (at least that he told me and that I could physically see) but had developed other issues along the way. First, they were constantly changing doses and medications to try and keep all of his blood work levels elevated and stable. He had severe edema already, kidney function issues and was put on no food, then food, then no food, like a yoyo. It had been almost 4 days without a really bathing (they were doing sponge baths), which really bothered me. They had been wrapping his extreme edema areas for a couple days and finally put him on a water pill to try and help relieve some of the water retention. On December 15th, I came into the hospital early in the morning and they had put him on lock down for the first time, due to the increased chances of infection. I walked into Kevin’s room, he told me he felt alright and had gotten up to go to the rest room (which he was happy about) and wanted to remain sitting in his chair. I opened my laptop and started to work per usual. Kevin fell asleep in his chair and the nurses came in per usual to take vitals and check on his status. In a matter of hours, the nurses came in to take his vitals again and his blood pressure was 70/30. In which I said…. “That can’t be right” so the nurse went and grabbed another machine and tried again…. The number was the same. The nurse called in the ICU team immediately and they began to try and move Kevin from the chair into the bed. He had something called neutropenia. His temperature was 101 and his white blood cell count was diminishing. Unfortunately, it took almost 20 minutes to get Kevin from his chair to his bed and they had to locate a bed for him in ICU. What I didn’t know, was how important time is when your body is suffering from sepsis. (Sepsis and Cancer) Because they removed part of Kevin’s lower intestine, he had a PICC line for chemo, was an internal chemo patient and had almost zero white blood cells to fight the infection, they had to put in another port for the antibiotics. (Sepsis and Invasive Devices) When we finally made it to the ICU, the doctors explained the procedure and told us he was going to be put on a ventilator and put under to help fight the infection. I looked at Kevin and said “I want to hear you say I love you before you can’t talk to me for a while” He just looked at me and said “I love you”. Those were the last words that my 55-year-old husband said to me before passing away the following afternoon…. not even 24 hours after being admitted into the ICU. It was not even one month from cancer diagnosis to passing and everything changed on a dime. The cause of death was septic shock, underlying was infectious colitis, neutropenia fever and non Hodgkins lymphoma. After a long time of research, I learned that time is one of the most important factors in beating sepsis, especially if chemotherapy is involved. I recommend that if you have a loved one who is getting chemo, you watch them closely and research sepsis and its initial signs, it may just save their life.
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Larry Gallant
Tribute
I came home from to find my husband in bed and I was unable to awaken him. I called 911 and he was taken to hospital. His 106 temperature was shocking as he was sitting on the sofa talking to me when I left for work and 5 hours later he was this ill. They almost lost him throughout the night. They put him in the hospital and the next afternoon he was getting worse and they flew him to University of Maryland in Baltimore and everything they tried did not work. Eight days later he was gone and it was a blessing for him. All his organs failed. His entire left lung was infected they told me. This was Aug. 14, 2015 and today May 20,2017, questions still come to mind. He got sick so quickly and had no chance to make it even though he had the best medical care, septic shock is deadly. Cause of death listed as pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia)
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Tamara L Jackson
Survivor
In 2007 I went in for a hysterectomy. (Sepsis and Surgery) In surgery, the doctor nicked my bowel. They sent me home only for me to return to hospital early that morning in severe pain and sick as a dog. When I got to emergency room I was treated and even told that I was just drug seeking. After tests and things, they found the bowel perforation. (Sepsis and Perforated Bowel) They took me back into surgery to repair it. It took 28 gallons of saline to clean me out. Now today, 2017, I suffer on a daily basis with several issues, bathroom issues, also always sick. I don’t believe that they truly cleaned me out or something is still very wrong. I am now terrified to even go find out what is still wrong from fear of how I will get treated and what I know I am going to have to go through. And a lot of the time it gets really bad but I feel like I would just die before I let anyone touch me again. This is my story I am continuously sick everyday. Any advice??
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Robin Meehan
Tribute
We had the perfect family, 2 happy and healthy young boys, aged 3 and 2. We eagerly were awaiting the arrival of our third child, a daughter who was due March 2015. Robin was 36 years old. Incredibly fit and healthy. Her labour and Sara’s birth were very normal. NOTHING unusual. However, 24 hours after delivery, my daughter Sara began to show signs she was ill. Within 30 hours she was transferred to a level 3 NICU in Hamilton, Ontario (we are from Milton, Ontario). Around the same time my daughter was transferred to another facility, my wife began to show very serious signs something was wrong. She was very red in the face, frantic, not completely with it. She also became very nauseous. I could see the fear in the nurses eyes when I went to get them. The nurses from the Mat ward rushed her up to ICU. While in ICU she was intubated. This is the last time she was ever awake. The doctors at our local hospital did what they could, but Robin began to suffer from organ failure. She was transferred to another hospital where she spent 4 days. Robin underwent 3 major surgeries. Six days after the birth of our daughter, the love of my life passed away from massive organ failure. Early on, but not early enough, she was diagnosed with a Strep A blood infection. Strep devastated her body and in turn our family. (Sepsis and Group A Streptococcus)
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Stephanie Alspaugh
Survivor
Hello my name is Stephanie, my story began in July of 2012. One day I was feeling rugged. I felt like I had a UTI. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) I had antibiotics so I started taking the medication. The antibiotic carried me through the next day. You see my grandmother was in ICU. We did not know if she was going to make it out of the hospital. We were there to help with care for the beloved woman of our heart. To our amazement the strong woman came home. My sister and I were there visiting. I did not feel well at all. After we bathed my grandmother I felt even worse. My grandmother said you are pale and feverish. I explained to her it felt as if I had a UTI and I started on an antibiotic and if I was not better I would go to the doctor. I prayed it worked as I had no insurance. I was a private care giver, so no insurance. In the middle of the night I woke up so cold to the bone nothing warmed me up. I had chills, cold sweats, profuse vomiting, you get the picture. I had to go to the doctor. By this point I was most certain this was more than a UTI. In fact I was certain I was septic. Two years early I had an emergency hysterectomy. They found while inside of me diverticulitis, so they gave antibiotics and figured that was all I needed. Now 2012, I’m in the hospital and they assume it’s my appendix. I said I really believe it’s diverticulitis and I have the symptoms of sepsis. I was aware of sepsis because I seen my mother-in-law die of sepsis. I knew the symptoms. They did a CT scan. It was diverticulitis. My antibiotics however were covering the sepsis, so they believed I did not have sepsis. They admitted me in the hospital and explained I would be there 24 hours with this and antibiotics. I would be sent home with 2 months of antibiotics, return for surgery to cut the diseased part of my colon out. Ten days later I’m still in the hospital I told them I was worse, the pain was moving and I knew I was septic. I said I have fever, my blood pressure and heart rate are dropping, you have to do another scan or I’m going to die. They replied you don’t have fever and pain meds are causing the low blood pressure. The nurse explained I do have fever; I checked under her arm it’s 104. I had blew 35 IVs. I was dying and I knew I was dying. They pacified me, gave me the CT scan. I was in surgery the next day, near to death I had gangrene. I came out with a colostomy. I was in and out of consciousness for days, didn’t know if I was going to live or die. One morning I woke up fully. I was hooked up to all kinds of machines and the nurse was teaching them how to use the ostomy products. I burst into tears, scared how was I going to take care of myself but grateful I was still alive. Six months had passed after a grueling healing process. It was time to be reattached so I was my doctor’s. Family reassured me it was all going to go well. I packed my ostomy products. My father said don’t be negative it is all going to be ok. I assured him I hoped and prayed that was the case but my gut feeling told me otherwise. I went through surgery, felt ok for a few days, no sign of septic shock again, until after days of nothing to eat they started with clear liquids. I did great, then soft food I did great. Now solid food was introduced, not so great. Profuse vomiting bile everywhere, no stopping in sight. They tubed me and I went through grueling tests. You guessed right, peritonitis, now septic shock again. I was declining rapidly I went in to emergency surgery, came out with a loop ostomy. Several rough weeks, I felt better. Now my gallbladder is bad. I had an attack that lasted 28 straight hours. Nothing relieved the pain I was so critical. They ran the test, all of a sudden the pain stopped and I could get some rest. I sent my poor family home to rest I assured them I felt better. They went home to rest. They were gone for not even an hour I went into tachycardia trying to have a heart attack. I prayed I said please don’t let me die. They stopped my heart and restarted after several attempts, nothing was working. Twenty one doctors were around me. They couldn’t put me to sleep or open me up again. I had been cut three times from my breastbone to the very bottom of my stomach. They knew I would not survive and I knew. My poor beloved family was at the hospital over 30 days each time. I had a son and grandbaby, huge family I had to fight like never before I had to beat the odds. I prayed for strength to endure for myself most importantly my son, new grandbaby and family. They informed me they had to go through my ribs around my colostomy into my gallbladder and drain it with no anesthesia and nothing for pain. I said ok let’s do it. It hurt beyond any pain I experienced but I made it through. A few weeks after went home with my new drain. Went right back in, had fistulas in my areas cut so had to heal inside out. Now I developed colo vaginal fistulas, back in hospital again for a revision of my ostomy and to sew the loop part down until I can be hooked back up. Four years later, sepsis several more times and multi organ failure. Sepsis syndrome, no end in sight. I’m alive. I fought, so you have to fight and help us to stop this epidemic that’s killing young and old alike. I’m 49 I want to live and because I educated myself I’m still here. So much more has happened with my health, we just wait for what’s next. I’m not giving up. I love all my doctors and nurses while in the hospital and I’m so grateful to them for fighting for me. I have now surrounded myself with great doctors who fight with me and I have been asked to be a doctor patient advocate for one of the biggest hospitals in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I hope we can start a chapter there so no one else has to die. With love to one and all. Sincerely, Stephanie Alspaugh
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Kria Fahmi Pasaribu
Tribute
Three cancers and two septic shocks later… Dad was a happy-go-lucky person. Despite his chronic illnesses, he led a full and happy life. He enjoyed working, travelling, dining out, going to the movies and playing with his grandchildren. No one would have thought that he had been battling three types of cancers for the past 15 years. (Sepsis and Cancer) My dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2001, prostate cancer in 2011 and kidney cancer in 2013. To save his life, he had his bladder and left kidney removed. He also underwent external beam radiation for his prostate cancer. His right kidney -which was unaffected by cancer- had lost more than 80% of its function, requiring my dad to go through dialysis treatments twice a week since 2013. When he was diagnosed with septic shock –the most severe stage of sepsis- I told myself he will be all right. If he could beat three cancers, he can definitely beat sepsis. He was, after all, a true fighter. Here’s his story. On 15 March 2017, I went to Kuala Lumpur for a day trip. I usually fly back to Jakarta with the 7 p.m. flight. However, I felt an inexplicable urge to be home. I decided to return to Jakarta at 3 p.m. – a rather odd timing considering I only arrived in Kuala Lumpur at 11:30 a.m. earlier that day. My dad had been unwell for weeks. He had been exhibiting symptoms similar to the flu and cold; a high body temperature (above 38C), headache, chills, and shaking. These symptoms usually subsided after he consumed medicines. His blood pressure also dropped drastically during his last two dialysis treatments. I thought nothing serious of it. It was probably due to cold, fever or fatigue – or so I thought. I arrived home from the airport around 5 p.m. My dad was lying in bed looking exhausted. He had been feeling an unusual pain in his abdominal area which did not subside with painkillers. The pain persisted and became more intense. I rushed him to the nearest hospital where he was admitted to the emergency room. The doctor performed an abdominal ultrasound. The result showed that dad’s kidney was swollen due to a bacterial infection. Pus had developed inside the tissue of his kidney. To drain the pus out, the doctors had to perform an emergency surgery at 1 a.m. We were called in 30 minutes later. Then came the bad news; his infection had spread, his bloodstream was now overwhelmed with bacteria. He had unusually low white blood cell counts. At the time, I still didn’t know that my dad was fighting a life-threatening illness. I Googled his symptoms and the word “sepsis” came up. I have never heard of sepsis before. Not once. I asked the doctor whether my dad suffered sepsis. He said yes. Little did I know it would take my dad’s life away 19 days later. On 16 March 2017, my dad was transferred to High Care Unit (HCU) to allow the doctors to closely monitor his heart rate, pulse rate, blood pressure. He was still conscious but his health started to go downhill. Around 1 a.m., I was called into the HCU. Dad was delirious and had pulled the drain tube out of his kidney. He insisted to go home. The doctors gave him sedatives to calm him down. He finally fell asleep. I, on the contrary, was wide awake worrying about what the future holds. Fast forward to two days later, 19 March 2017. Dad was having difficulty breathing. I was never prepared for what came after. The head of ICU called the family in and informed us dad’s prognosis was poor. We were asked to prepare for the worst. They also needed to transfer him to the ICU and place him on a ventilator to help him breathe. It was the one thing we feared most – we all broke down. I remember standing at my dad’s bedside shortly after, crying so hard my chest hurt. The next two weeks was a roller coaster ride. My life was thrown into chaos. Dad drifted in and out of consciousness. One day he was conscious, the next he seemed unresponsive. Some days he was in so much pain he cried, other days he smiled and laughed a lot. Dad was given intravenous antibiotics on a daily basis, oxygen, and vasopressors to keep his blood pressure stable. He also received regular dialysis treatments and suctioning of the respiratory tract. At some point, dad was making good progress. His white blood cell count, hemoglobin and albumin levels returned to normal range. His vitals were also stable. He was finally taken off the ventilator on 27 March, and was scheduled to be transferred to the ward on 1 April. However, he lost a lot of blood on that day. I also remember he repeatedly recited short prayers aloud, causing his blood pressure and heart rate to skyrocket to unsafe levels. The next day, a miracle happened. He was fully alert and smiling, as if he didn’t feel any pain. Despite the heavy bleeding, his face was bright and happy. He greeted all of us by name – he even remembered our full names! We were deliriously happy and took a selfie together. Then he asked us where he was, why he was in the hospital, what happened to him, how long he had been there, and whether he fell down. He mentioned he wanted to sit, drink, eat, and go home. He even made a few jokes. He didn’t look sick at all despite being gravely ill. A few hours later, at around 11 p.m., my big sister who was in the hospital at the time called. Dad was struggling for air. His respiratory rate was more than 40 breaths per minute (bpm), while the healthy rate is only between 12 to 20 bpm. I agreed to put him back on ventilator. The next morning, the doctors performed an endoscopy on my dad to examine his internal organs. Dad had severe internal bleeding of throat and stomach. He continued losing blood, a lot of it. My mum also noticed his body no longer tolerated the dialysis treatment. In that moment, she burst into tears. She asked me and my sisters to discuss dad’s prognosis with the doctors. As expected, the doctors were not optimistic about his recovery. Dad had developed another septic shock and was beginning to experience multiple organ failure. His condition was worse than when he first entered ICU. To complicate things further, they found a mass in dad’s kidney, likely cancerous taking into account his medical history. They suspected cancer to be the underlying cause of his sepsis. We were given four options; to give dad full medical support, to maintain the level of support as it is, to gradually reduce it, or to withdraw it altogether. We chose the first option, but my heart already knew that only God’s miracle would cure him. After meeting the doctors, I went to see my dad. He was deteriorating before my eyes. I cried uncontrollably. That night, for the first time ever, I told him I was prepared to let him go. Dad passed away the next morning on 4 April 2017 at 5:40 a.m. I will always remember that feeling of fear and helplessness as I was called into the ICU at 4 a.m., exactly 1 hour and 40 minutes before his heart stopped beating. The doctor came to me and said, “Despite our best efforts, your father continues to deteriorate.” I looked at his bedside monitor; his heart rate, pulse rate, and respiratory rate were weakening. His blood pressure undetected. I knew what that meant. I turned to my husband and asked, “What’s the date today? This is the day I am losing my dad.” He hugged me tight as tears rolled down my face. My whole body shook. He, too, broke down. The hardest part was having to inform my family of dad’s critical condition. In tears, I called my little sister, “Please come here as soon as you can. Dad is leaving us. I can feel it.” After that brief phone call, I held dad’s hands and whispered in his ear, “Everyone is on their way here. Please don’t go yet. Promise me you’ll wait until everyone gets here.” He did exactly just that. My mother, sisters and I were all there in his final moments, holding his hands, kissing his forehead, reciting prayers, and promising him to fulfill our shared dreams. I miss him so much, I still grieve, but I take comfort in knowing he is in a much better place now. He passed away with a smile on his face. I have never seen such a beautiful smile on a deceased person. One of the greatest gifts he’d given us was hope. He showed us that it is absolutely possible to lead a normal life while living with chronic illnesses for more than a decade. We truly hope his story inspires others who are battling cancer (or three cancers, as in my dad’s case). If you ever need someone to talk to, don’t hesitate to email me at appetriny@gmail.com. Rest in peace, my first love, my mentor, my best friend. I love you with all my heart, now and always.
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Kimberly Muhonen
Survivor
Hello. I happen to come across your website this evening. I didn’t know it existed. My story of sepsis began March of 2016. The beginning of March 2016 I received an antibiotic for flu/cough symptoms. I took that antibiotic for a week. But my cough never went away. Saturday March 26, 2017, I hosted my first Grandbaby’s Baptism. Whenever I needed to cough, I went into the garage as not to alarm anyone. Other than my cough, I felt fine. I then was hosting Easter the next day. That night I went spiraling downhill with my symptoms. I became feverish, chills, and in a lot of pain down my left side, from my shoulder and down my back. I couldn’t stand up straight because of the pain. In the morning, I told my husband that he needs to put the ham in the oven, I need to go to the ER. I got to the ER check-in desk and told the lady that I needed a chest x-ray. The lady said, “Don’t you want to wait until tomorrow?” I said, “No. I need one right now.” I did get the x-ray and labs were taken. I had lower left lobe pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) I was given an antibiotic and told that I will feel better in a few days and was sent home. I was given nothing for my pain. An hour or 2 later, I started vomiting and dry-heaving. I felt absolutely horrible. I felt so sick and asked my husband to call the ER and to tell them I was so sick and vomiting from the antibiotic. The ER told my husband to tell me to “Just keep doing what she is doing and she will feel better in a few days.” My gut feeling was telling me that I needed to be hospitalized. But I thought, I was just in the ER and they are the doctors, so they know better than I do because they are the doctors. I called a friend who works in a hospital 40 minutes away. She said, “Get to Maple Grove Hospital Immediately!” My husband drove me over there right away. I am admitted with pneumonia and sepsis. I feel so grateful for trusting my gut and listening to my friend’s advice. I was hospitalized for 4 days, which is minor compared to so many who have been hospitalized for many many days and/or lost their lives.