Thomas Randall Toler
My story began in 2008 (I turned 48 later in this year) with another of the many kidney stones that I have the misfortune of manufacturing. (Sepsis and Kidney Stones) It had gotten to be a routine matter for me and my family. I wasn’t any more concerned about this one than I had been with the others. The stone had to be removed, just like so many of the rest. This again required a stint to be placed from the kidneys to the bladder, which would be left for a few days. The only difference this time was that it was left in place for much longer than usual; my urologist was on vacation.
When he returned I asked for antibiotics but the doctor scoffed at the notion. Later that evening, I started chilling as I never had before. I kept running tubs of hot water, but after a couple of hours the tub, I was no warmer. I couldn’t stop shaking. When I went to the ER, they did a CT scan and found that a fragment of the stone had been entrapped by the stent and that I was now “septic.” I had to travel 100 miles to another hospital where they removed the fragment. I was told before the removal that I might not survive. The sepsis was in a “pocket” and that when the stone was removed, the “dead and decaying” infection’s toxins would flood my bloodstream. I was told that IF I survived, I would be much worse when I awakened. I believed NONE of it. I thought they were mistaken. True, I felt BAD, but not sick unto death. I was VERY WRONG. I awoke to discover I was on a ventilator due to respiratory failure and I was in such excruciating pain that it defies description.
After a few days in ICU, I demanded to go home. They told me that there would be no lingering effects. “Once sepsis is gone, it’s gone!” they said. I was never able to go back to work. Debilitating neuropathy set in on my legs first, then my arms and worse was to come. (Sepsis and Post-Sepsis Syndrome) The neuropathy then affected my organs. Who knew that there was such a thing as “autonomic neuropathy”? I sure didn’t and I worked in health care as an x-ray tech. Of course, none of this was readily diagnosed. I traveled from West Virginia to Arizona, Florida (Mayo Clinic), North Carolina (Duke), Ohio (Cleveland Clinic), Virginia (Arlington). My pulse is extremely difficult to keep down, as is my blood pressure; my food doesn’t digest properly so I look at eating with fear and trembling. The fatigue is indescribable. I cannot sleep without meds. My medication list went from nothing BS (before sepsis) to looking like a grocery list. And finances? They have been decimated. I sincerely wish I had found this website sooner. I’m so thankful it exists.
I will contribute what I can in the hopes of helping others find an easier “row to hoe” (WV phrase!) if they receive the unfortunate diagnosis of “Sepsis”. Love to all of you fellow sufferers/survivors. If I can ever be of help, PLEASE reach out to me.
