Karen Mentzer

Karen Mentzer
Survivor

Back in 2006, I was having back pain; I thought it was a kidney stone. (Sepsis and Kidney Stones) After being in pain for 4 days, I was taken to the hospital with a 104 temp and blood in my urine. I was told that I was septic and I stayed in the hospital for 5 days, recovery time at home was 2 weeks. I was never told what sepsis was. I was very weak. I had a hard time standing. I also was very tired for the next year or so.

In August 2008 I went in for gastric bypass. I felt pretty good and was released from hospital. I started calling the doctor’s office the next day after being released. I told them that something was wrong. They treated me like it was all in my head, telling me to call back in the morning if I still felt sick, and that’s what I did. They still couldn’t find anything wrong with me but admitted me into the hospital. The next day I started throwing up brown stuff but I hadn’t eaten anything. One of the doctors walked in and I asked him to smell my throw up. I was throwing up from the bowel.

They prepped me for surgery. They wouldn’t even help me move from one table to the other. I don’t know how many days later, I woke up in CCU trying to pull my tubes out. I was coming out of a drug-induced coma. I was in the CCU for 9 days. I was on a ventilator and I had amnesia. I had a deep wound on my right arm but no one could tell me how it got there. It took months to heal and left with a large scar. (Sepsis and Surgery)

I stayed in the hospital for a month before I could go home. I had to take care of my own wound, which was about 7 inches long, about 5 inches wide, and 4 to 5 inches deep. I had to clean this wound twice a week until I was assigned an in-home nurse.

I don’t ever think I will be the same. (Sepsis and Post-Sepsis Syndrome) My body hurts from head to toe and every joint hurts. I have numbness in every finger tip. My teeth are starting to crack and my memory just isn’t as good as it used to be. Sometimes I just wish God would call me home and put me out of my misery. I hope all of this makes sense I get side tracked so easy these days

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