Amber Mastantuono

At 25 weeks pregnant I was having severe pain in my back I went to the hospital where they saw I was obstructed by large kidney stones. (Sepsis and Pregnancy & Childbirth, Sepsis and Kidney Stones) They arranged for me to get a nephrostomy tube in place as it was the safest option suggested that would cause the baby no harm or issues. After having the surgery I had such discomfort and pain, and nothing but problems with the tube but little did I know this was just the beginning of my nightmare.

On September 14th I woke up with pain that I could barely even walk let alone hold anything down in my stomach. My mother-in-law suggested we go to the emergency room but I was reluctant to do so because I wanted to pick up my daughter from school before making the trip to ER just in case they had to keep me.

As time went on I grew worse and worse … my mother-in-law called my ob/gyn who told us to come in soon as possible. After gripping the toilet bowl throwing up non stop and my brother who was visiting from out of town holding my hair back, my mother-in-law finally convinced me it was time to go to the hospital.  As she drove me to the hospital, the pain slowly increased. By the time we reached the hospital I could barely even get into the wheel chair . We got up to the ob/gyn floor and I couldn’t take the pain anymore. The only thing I could mutter was please please help me.

Nurses came in taking my vitals and to ask what was going on. The pain was so intense I couldn’t even talk for myself all I could do was grip my mother-in-law’s hand for dear life and ask for help. The nurse took my temperature and saw I had a high temp. I asked for something for pain and she said she was going to call right down to the doctor. She came back and gave me pain medicine that helped for all of 5 seconds till I was back to screaming for help.

My husband arrived after leaving work early to be by my side. They had him sign consent forms for testing. They informed me they were going to do a CAT scan to see what was going on. I laid there in pain screaming trying to stay still as the pain only was intensifying as time went on. After waiting for what seemed like a lifetime, the doctors came in with the game plan. They told us I had a double collecting system and that also had become obstructed. We were informed that I would have a second nephrostomy tube in place and I’ll feel good as new. In the meantime they had me on a pain pump to deal with the pain. It was time to go down for the surgery in which I kissed my husband and mother-in-law right before they took me and they wished me good luck. I remember getting to the operating room and grabbing the nurse’s hand, telling her I’m still awake. Just as I said those words I felt a cut in my back and all I could do was scream … suddenly I couldn’t breathe. That’s the last I can remember.

I woke up going in and out of it, hooked up to oxygen and two bags filled with blood and pus. As I looked over I could see my mother-in-law crying and a tall doctor holding her hand telling her “mama we are gonna do everything we can to save her”… at this point, I didn’t know how bad things were. My eyelids where so heavy all I could hear was her on the phone with my husband, telling him to hurry back to the hospital. All I remember was them telling me things are going to happen really fast, that I was really sick. They rushed me up to ICU were nurses were in and out and I was hooked up to every machine there was.

My brother, mother-in-law, and husband sat in chairs next to me telling me everything is going to be ok while wearing their best poker faces. I didn’t gather how serious everything was till I woke up the next morning where my mother-in-law was still sitting in the same chair she was the night, before leaning over the rail of my bed, holding my hand. That’s when she told me I was in septic shock, that they blew an abscess when they cut into me for the nephrostomy tube and they weren’t sure if they were going to have to deliver the baby.

I had really rough and bad days and some days I would be doing well and then would be bumped right back down to another issue that was created because of the sepsis. I soon became well enough that I was able to be released with a central line and a home nurse who taught my mother-in-law how to do all my treatments …. I was only home for one day when my nephrostomy tubes became blocked and I had to have an emergency c section … After having my son born prematurely, I slowly regained back my health. I was told by the doctors that had I not been a healthy individual before sepsis that I would not have survived. Sepsis not only almost took my life but my son’s as well … but luckily enough we survived together. Life has a crazy way of putting things in perspective for you. I will always remain thankful to have survived and blessed with my beautiful little boy. I am so very lucky to have had such a good support system help me get back on my feet.