Kathleen Morris

Reading other sepsis survivor and tribute stories, I realize that I was recently blessed and I am thankful.

May 4th, 2023 was my 64th birthday and I felt fine until around noon. I had been trying to help my body get over a recent bout from diverticulitis but around noon, I started to notice a little sore throat, mostly on one side. As the day progressed, the sore throat spread around my throat and up into my ears and by night time I was running a fever of 101° . I tried various home remedies and over the counter meds but nothing helped. By about midnight, I couldn’t swallow at all due to the intense pain when I tried so I spent the night spitting into tissues. I decided to wait and call my primary care doc in the morning. (In hindsight, I would go to the ER at this point instead.)

When I saw my doctor around 11:00am, my breathing and heartrate were very fast and my temp was 103° – he sent me to the ER, where they (thankfully) immediately triaged me and called in a “code sepsis”. I was on steroids and antibiotics before noon, I think, but I was still very sick. I developed a lumpy, painful rash on my throat and chest which spread up to my face.

I spent four nights in the hospital (not in the ICU) where I received excellent care, and I did not progress to severe sepsis, for which I am thankful. They tell me that the bacteria they found in my blood was Haemophilus Influenzae (H. influenza), much more common in children, which caused severe pharyngitis, possible cellulitis, and then sepsis. (Sepsis and Bacterial Infections)

It happened SO fast.