Katrina Lee Whitendon

My youngest sister was only 55 years old when she passed away from sepsis two years ago. She had a history of ulcers and we all thought they were being monitored. One day, her husband found her unresponsive. By the time I got there (we live 3 hours away), she was on a vent in ICU. She wasn’t expected to live but a few hours longer.

The ICU nurse told me an ulcer burst, slicing her intestine completely in half. (Sepsis and Perforated Bowel) There was no way of telling how long ago this had happened but the damage was done. She responded to my voice. The first time she had responded at all. She gradually improved ever so little, after being in ICU for 3 weeks, but then staph set in. She died one week later. Staph is another added problem to anyone being in the hospital with sepsis. But her long-term prognosis was not good had she lived.

One thing to take from all of this is this: although she had ulcers, she never had any pain prior to her husband finding her unresponsive. None at all. You could say sepsis is sometimes a silent killer.

Source: by Kathy Eidson (Katrina's sister)