Kathryn Tripino
Recently had gone to the ER for shortness of breath and heavy cold symptoms. Was sent home with antibiotics and told to rest. Was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) I’m 66 years old with heart stents and angioplasty done 4 years ago. My heart is very good, blood pressure controlled, no diabetes or chronic illnesses.
The day after completing the antibiotics I felt fine, made dinner for my family and hung out with my grandkids. Went to bed a little tired but I’m old and chubby.
At 4:13am I sat straight up in bed and everything went black, a whoosh of air from my diaphragm out my mouth occurred. It wasn’t blackness like a dark room but a shiny black with a tube that had a light around it. Remember thinking that’s strange, then must have lost consciousness and woke up on the floor. Somehow I made it to the kitchen to get water and knocked out again. About 8am I heard my son’s voice and said I need help. He said what’s wrong. Told him what happened and he told a grandson to start the truck.
Of course I had to get a shower first and dressed.
A security guard came up to the truck and brought a wheelchair. I resisted it but was told to get in it, the wait time to go back to the trauma room was like 2 minutes. Must have looked really bad I said to myself. There were about 3 nurses, EMT and the doctor in the room when I got there. Then started to freak out. My blood pressure was 80/46, heart rate 90. Remember asking them why it was do low. They wouldn’t say anything. Then the needles started, IV, arterial gas puncture. Blood cultures, you name it. I told the doc I was only here because the other round of antibiotics failed. He goes what med school did you go to, laughing. Dr. Google was my reply.
Finally after 4 hours they told me I was going to the ICU unit. They pumped fluids and my BP came up enough to not have to go to ICU. Two days of inpatient and IV antibiotics, the doc said it was up to me if I wanted to go home, missed my dog. Should have stayed those extra days for more rest.
Now reading everyone’s stories I’m freaked out again. I notice my brain is not functioning as fast, been dropping everything I pick up and harder to walk around. You see on medical shows when they say the patient is septic and don’t even have a damn clue what that entails. My doc said if I wouldn’t have gone in when I did, it wouldn’t have been pretty, I asked her like laying in a casket pretty and she shook her head yes.
My cardiologist said at my follow up, boy if that wasn’t a stress test I don’t know what is, meaning my heart was not affected at all. I feel blessed that I survived, I know I still have purpose on this earth. Now learning about the residual affect of sepsis and pneumonia. Didn’t get covid but ended up with this, was so careful not to get covid but somehow this bacteria found its way to me. Sending you all healing and peace.
