Dottie Badottie Ortega

I am a 37 yr. old mom of 2, I work part-time, homeschool my youngest, help run a weekly co-op, teach Sunday school classes and help chaperone youth group events, and sometimes I help my husband coach baseball. I have always been healthy and never took colds or other illnesses too seriously.

I got sick Feb. 15, 2025. I was diagnosed with the flu on Feb. 18th, I had a high fever and a horrible cough and chills. I didn’t think much of it. I had heard the flu was really bad this year and I figured I had a bad case like others I knew. On the 20th I had a telehealth appointment with my doctor who prescribed me a cough suppressant and prednisone to help me get over the flu. (Sepsis and Influenza)

By the next day I was nauseated and so sick to my stomach. I still had a fever and I would lay on the floor in pain from the aches in my back. My husband and I finally decided it was time to go to the ER around 11pm that evening. By the time we got there my blood pressure was gone and they coded me right away. I had a bad case of pneumonia and was going into septic shock. (Sepsis and Pneumonia)

The following day I was intubated and put on life support, I was in multiorgan failure, including liver, kidney, GI, lung, heart and brain and the outcome did not look good. I was intubated for 5 days while they worked to stabilize my blood pressure and get the fever and infection under control. After extubation I couldn’t speak and did not have use of my hands or arms. After a few days I started remembering who I was and I started to regain my strength. Amazingly I was able to go home after 13 days in the hospital.

I didn’t have to go to rehab like they originally thought and was able to go home without a walker and without oxygen. I received physical therapy and a nurse visit every week for a month as I recovered. This all happened a little over 2 months ago and although I still get very tired and need to rest a lot through out the day. I can’t think as clearly, I get very anxious when having to make decisions. Sometimes I still get winded. The emotions of not only what I went through but what my family and friends went through can be overwhelming. Doctor appointments are stressful and still trying to remember all that happened during those two weeks can get to me sometimes. I continue to have follow ups for an on going infection/inflammation still in my lung. Hopefully that will clear soon. I will have an MRI of my heart done in June to make sure there is no scarring on my heart. But by the grace of God I am alive today and able to attend my 16 yr. old daughter’s golf tournaments and my 9 yr. old son’s baseball games, I get to go to church with my wonderful church family and attend gatherings with my family.

The guilt of surviving when so many don’t, (including just last year a friend of mine who lost their son to a similar situation). The guilt of not being 100% back to normal and wanting to so badly. The worry of what will go wrong next now that my body has been through this. The guilt of feeling sad that this happened when I should be over joyed that I survived. Of making sure the people in my life know how much they mean to me before it’s too late. It’s a weight I live with everyday but also remembering to be grateful, to have joy for a new chance at life. To be thankful for the small things. I was not in control over this situation and a lot of times I can’t control the circumstances in my life but I can control who I put my trust in and my attitude moving forward.

I pray that as a survivor I can give support to others and help people become more aware of the symptoms of sepsis before it’s too late. We get to live and live well with a new perspective that others do not have. I praying that for me this horrible experience can be a blessing in my life and to others as I move forward.