Katie Simmonds

My name is Katie, I’m 25 years old from Australia. It has been seven years since I nearly lost my life to sepsis and was what inspired me to become a nurse. I am half way through my nursing degree and am constantly reminded of what I went through, as I study it every day. This has brought up a lot for me that I am only just beginning to deal with. This photo is of myself and my Mum & Dad taken just a few days ago.

I’m hoping that by sharing my story I can help other survivors out there to not feel alone – it has helped me to read other survivor stories. I would also like to help raise awareness for sepsis – before I got sick I had never heard of sepsis and to this day most people still don’t know what it is.

When I was 18 years old I developed a renal abscess which caused septecemia and septic shock. Septic shock is defined as: A widespread infection causing organ failure and dangerously low blood pressure, it is a medical emergency. Most of my memory of when I got sick is very cloudy and unclear but I will try to tell it the best I can.

It was the beginning of 2010, I had just finished my VCE (high school) and was looking into starting a diploma of make up.

When I started to notice I was feeling unwell I took it as just having the flu – I was severely run down and had body aches but continued with my life as normal. Most of these memories blur together – I don’t remember how long it was that I was feeling unwell for – maybe 7-10 days….

I remember one night being particularly bad – I had pain in my back that was so excruciating I couldn’t walk to the bathroom. I remember crawling my way to the bathroom, probably to throw up. The pain was terrible.

I remember taking a bus from where I was living into the city for an open day for my university – I could hardly even stand up I felt so unwell and weak. It is hard to describe the feeling but I just felt sick.

I did go to see a GP, who said to me it was probably a UTI and took my urine sample and sent me home. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections)

At this stage in my life I was living with my boyfriend at the times’ family house. It was a terrible relationship and his family were no help…I felt very much alone.

The next couple of days were horrible – I was in so much pain in my back and I kept vomiting – not able to keep anything down. I had a fever and could not move. I do not remember how many days/hours I was like that.

The next memory that comes to mind is me having uncontrolled temors – I was violently shaking uncontroably. At this point I truly felt I was going to die. I remember being very conscious of what I would say and how I would says it – because I wanted my boyfriend to remember me as a kind and good person. I did not feel I was going to survive. During all this I was still vomiting….I could not walk.

My boyfriend at the time decided it was a good idea to put me in a cold shower – I guess to try and reduce my temperature. At the same time he called his mum who immediately told him to take me to the nearest hospital – and thank god for that.

My boyfriend somehow got me to his car and I lay down in the back seat. I have a very clear memory of being in his car and feeling like I would die – all I could do was to was lay there and listen to the sound of his car and try not to vomit. The feeling of being that unwell is indescribable.

We arrived at Moorondah Hospital in emergency and I was still vomiting. My boyfriend had to run and get a wheelchair to put me in as I could not stand.

I remember that as soon as I arrived in emergency, a nurse asked me a few questions – Do you know what day it is? Do you know where you are? What month is it? I could not answer one single question she asked – I was so confused I didn’t even know what day, time or month it was, or how old I was.

I was taken straight into the ED (emergency department) and from there my memory is quite blurry. I remember being told I was very very sick. I wanted my mum and dad, I was scared.

I was transferred to Box Hill Hospital. At Box Hill Hospital I had a central line and an arterial line inserted. I had a central line inserted from the main artery in the groin. And an arterial line was used to constantly record my blood pressure – as it was so dangerously low.

I don’t know if this is where I had a CT scan to confirm I had a renal abscess (caused by a UTI) that had caused sepsis.

I’m not sure which hospital I was at but I have a memory of not being sure where I was or what time of day it was. I was completely alone and scared. I asked the nurse if she could call my mum but I think it must have been in the middle of the night – I remember waiting and waiting for my family to arrive – I was scared and thought they weren’t coming. I stayed awake most of the night waiting for them to arrive – at no fault of my parents – visitors weren’t allowed and I was very confused.

I was then transferred to the Austin hospital, which is one of the best hospitals in Melbourne. I remember being in the ambulance (the paramedic was very cute), he was so nice to me and kept up conversation (to keep me awake), I remember just being so tired – I wanted to fall asleep but didn’t want this cute boy to think I was rude so I kept trying to keep the conversations going.

When I arrived at the Austin they were quite angry I was transferred – they said I was too sick and might not have survived the trip. I remember being surrounded by multiple nursing staff and doctors. I remember one very kind nurse telling me not to be scared, that they are going to take care of me. I had a catheter inserted at one point as well.

I was transferred to ICU where I continued to receive IV antibiotics.

At one point my blood pressure was so low I needed to be given adrenaline (vasopressors).

I seemed to be resistant to any antibiotics I was given so they decided they needed to perform a procedure to insert a drain into my kidney (and into the abscess) through my back. This had to be done without any anaesthetic as I was too sick to me put under.

I was taken into a CT scanner where they were to perform the procedure. Just moving me from my bed into the CT scanner was excruciating. I was on my stomach, and had a needle inserted through my back – into my kidney. I then had to be put through the scanner (to check if it was in the right spot), and then the needle was taken out, repositioned and I was scanned again. I think this was repeated 3-4 times. Needless to say, this was extremely painful – but I will always be so grateful for all the doctors and nurses who saved my life.

I was in ICU for a total of 5 days – which I do not have much memory of. I started to get better once the drain as inserted.

I was transferred to a ward. One of my lungs collapsed and I passed something through my drain (possibly a kidney stone) and that was the most excruciating pain (they said it is similar to child birth) – I was given a PCA (patient controlled analgesic) to help with the pain.

I slowly started to get better. I remember my beautiful parents being by my side through all this. They held my hand and were there for me. I will be eternally grateful for them and their endless love.

After two weeks on the general ward I was discharged. I remember having to learn to walk again – I was so weak and tired. Even just getting up out of bed and walking a few steps was exhausting. I was certainly an interesting case for a lot of the resident and student doctors! Sometimes I would have 6-7 doctors all standing around my bed talking about what happened to me. My doctors never really figured out how I got so sick – I was tested for HIV (which was negative), because they couldn’t understand why my immune system was so low. I was diagnosed with glandular fever.

While I was at the Austin I do remember my parents “busting me out” one afternoon so we could go down the road to McDonald’s for lunch! That was a good day…

An even better day was the day I went home with my parents. I was over the moon with joy and happiness. It took me about two years to recover and gain back my energy.