Asha Gupta
Everyone loves their mom for the unconditional love and care that’s impossible to find anywhere else. Come what may, just one call to your mom, and you rest assure that everything is fine with you and this world.
On 28th Dec, 2017, I lost my mom. And with her, I lost a chunk of my heart.
Her urinary tract infections started mildly with urgency to pee (no pain). She soon developed fever (101-102 F), with chills down the body, fatigue and loss of appetite. She soon consulted the local physician who started her on antibiotics. My mother was also diabetic, but tried to controlled it at large. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections, Sepsis and Diabetes)
The medications went for almost two weeks, after which the doctors advised her to go to a hospital. At this point, she was not diagnosed with urosepsis. It was a case of UTI. I and my family were unaware of sepsis and the possible threat it could pose.
When the fever didn’t go after two weeks of medications, she was hospitalized for a week with IV antibiotics and started showing signs of improvement. Her fever subsided on the fifth day, appetite and sleep recovered. The doctors and the hospital decided to discharge. On the evening she was discharged, the fever and chills returned to 102 F and her blood glucose dropped to 37. She was taken to emergency and once in ICU her essential salts (Ca, Na, K) were found low, accompanied by high serum creatinine (which indicates improper kidney function).
Though she was being administered antibiotics (intravenously) but the E. Coli (infection bacteria) strain was drug resistant. At this point, her condition deteriorated by the day and her fever barely dropped to 99 F even after rounds of paracetamol IV and broad range antibiotics. We panicked and tried to go to the previous hospital. Her drug therapy was changed and she was administered with IVs again. At this point, she began showing symptoms of mouth blisters and amnesia. We requested the doctors to give her sleep medicines to ease her situation. On the morning of 5th day of being re hospitalized, she began feeling pain in chest and breathless. The sepsis started affecting her heart, by next day her condition deteriorated. The BP started dropping and her ejection fraction was 35% accompanied by still a high serum creatinine (the kidney were failing). At this point, Although the fever subsided, the doctor assured that they have treated the infection but the heart condition is new (they blamed her past heart history – which was minor). On the following day, my mother had a cardiac arrest post which her heart could not be revived.
To see my strong and wonderful mother in such a vulnerable state was something that tore me apart. I always knew as a bold woman, struggling to speak and her hands trembling crushed my soul. To see her feebly trying to remove her BIPAP O2 mask and ask for water. It’s something that haunts me all the time. Every time I came out of the ICU ward, I would cry uncontrollably to see my mom in such a condition.
I wanted to protect her and save her. I held her hands and embraced her and always told her that everything would be fine. She stayed brave and strong throughout; always believing that she’ll be fine and eager to get back to her normal routine.
But neither did she nor did we comprehend that a UTI case could become life-threatening until the fateful day.
I just hoped everything would be same when I sat beside my mom all night observing the ICU monitor for her heart rate, Spo2 level, respiratory rate, her temperature and reporting any anomalies. When she suffered cardiac arrest, I just hoped my mom’s heart would beat again while the doctors were giving her CPR. I just hoped my mom would speak again when the doctor said that they couldn’t revive her heart and I embraced her body crying like a little kid.
I loved my mom a lot. And, certainly, I have my own reasons to believe that she was special. And those reasons are enough for me to write about her and share with as many people as possible. She is one of the boldest women I’ve ever known. A strong woman, who cared for everyone around her. She was the critical link in our family that brought all of us together.
Losing my mom has left a huge void. The first few days, I became too numb to feel anything. However, as we gradually return to our routine, I feel all the things same except for just one thing — my mom is not present. It feels as if I had a protective layer that isn’t there anymore.
Maybe, if we known about the sepsis early enough, we would have taken different decisions. I just hope, people and doctors have more awareness about this disease and detect early to save lives.
Source: Vaibhav (Son)
