Alex M.

On Christmas Eve 2023, I thought I was just fighting off a bad cold. I had a cough, fever, chills, and body aches, but with two young kids, ages 5 and 7, I didn’t want to ruin Christmas. I took some Tylenol and NyQuil, went to bed early, and hoped to feel better by morning.

Christmas morning came, and I felt awful, weak, feverish, and exhausted, but I pushed through to watch my kids open their presents before heading straight back to bed. I assumed it was just a winter bug that would pass in a few days. What I didn’t realize was that my immune system was severely weakened. I was receiving Remicade infusions every two months to manage my Crohn’s disease, which suppresses the immune system. I later learned that I had never been advised to get pneumonia or flu vaccines, which might have lessened the severity of what was about to happen. (Sepsis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Sepsis and Impaired Immune System)

On December 26th, my wife found me in my home office, barely conscious and gasping for air. She said I was making a horrible gurgling noise from deep in my lungs. I had tried my son’s nebulizer and an old inhaler, but nothing helped. She insisted we go to urgent care immediately. I was so disoriented that I put my hoodie on backward and left the house wearing only that and my sweatpants. I told my wife I could drive, but she said I was stumbling like I was drunk.

At urgent care, my oxygen level was just 65%. Within minutes, the fire department was rushing me to the hospital. That’s the last thing I remember.

Doctors diagnosed me with Streptococcus pneumoniae type 1, a severe bacterial pneumonia that had led to sepsis. My wife and mother-in-law were told I was “a very, very sick man” and that it was unlikely I would survive. I crashed many times in the first few days. My kidneys, liver, and lungs were failing. I went into cardiac arrest and was placed in a medically induced coma whilst my brain was being monitored. (Sepsis and Pneumonia)

My ICU Journey

I remained in that coma for a week. When I finally woke up, I was in the ICU, surrounded by machines and tubes. I was on a ventilator, my kidneys required dialysis, and I had developed blood clots in both legs. My right arm was paralyzed. A feeding tube and tracheotomy kept me alive.

The nightmares I experienced while in the coma and ICU were beyond description, vivid, terrifying, and disturbingly real. Even after waking, I struggled to separate dreams from reality. When physical therapy began, I was too weak to even lift my head. It took two therapists to help me stand for a few seconds, but that moment felt monumental.

My sister flew from New Zealand with her daughter as soon as she heard how critical I was. She was by my bedside when I woke up from the coma. Seeing her face, so far from home, was surreal. My elderly parents, both in their 80s, were in total shock and heartbreak, unable to travel but calling daily for updates from halfway across the world.

After a month in the ICU, I was moved to the respiratory ward. Though off the ventilator, I was still on oxygen. My lungs kept collapsing, and doctors inserted a filter through my groin to catch any blood clots before they could reach my heart or lungs.

The Fight to Recover

Hospital life was grueling, blood draws at 3 a.m., breathing treatments at 4, chest percussions, endless suctioning, and chest X-rays before sunrise. I barely slept. Depression hit hard. I would lie awake, counting ceiling tiles, wondering if I’d ever walk again or feel normal. On Valentine’s Day, doctors inserted a long needle through my back to drain fluid from my lungs. Then, on February 19th, I underwent a thoracotomy to scrape necrotic tissue from my lungs. The pain afterward was indescribable, especially when coughing or being suctioned.

Finally, on March 1st, more than two months after being admitted, I was transferred to another hospital. My tracheostomy and feeding tube were removed, and for the first time, I could speak and eat and finally see my kids again! I was there for 2 weeks and then sent to a rehabilitation facility for more PT. After a week in rehabilitation, I was finally discharged nearly three months after my wife found me gasping for air.

The Unseen Survivor: My Wife

While I was fighting for my life, my wife was living through her own nightmare. For three long months, she didn’t know if I would live or die, all while maintaining normalcy for our children. She woke up each morning, took them to school, kept the household running, and somehow found the strength to visit me every day, even when she didn’t know if I’d still be alive when she arrived.

Her courage and love held our family together. She faced every setback, every terrifying update, and every sleepless night alone. Sepsis doesn’t just devastate one body, it shatters families. My wife is as much a survivor of this ordeal as I am.

Life After Sepsis

Recovery didn’t end when I left the hospital. I spent seven months in physical therapy to regain movement in my right arm and learn to walk again. I joined a gym, rebuilt my strength, and returned to swimming three times a week. I still live with numbness in my chest and legs, and I continue therapy for PTSD and anxiety. Medication helps, but so does purpose. I now volunteer with CASA, advocating for neglected and abused children. I’ve also returned to DJing, something that brings me joy, community, and healing.

Every doctor I’ve seen since, my gastroenterologist, infectious disease specialist, pulmonologist, primary care physician, and even my dermatologist, has told me the same thing: I’m a walking miracle.

Moving Forward

Surviving sepsis changed everything. It stripped me down completely and gave me a second chance at life.

If there’s one message I want to share, it’s this: understand your risks. If you’re on immunosuppressants like Remicade, talk to your doctor about vaccines and infection prevention. I was never warned and I nearly paid for that with my life.

I’m alive for a reason, to raise awareness, to honor the strength of my wife and family, and to remind others that early recognition and prevention can save lives.

I shouldn’t be here, but I am. And that’s why I’ll keep telling this story, for as long as I can.