Lauren Moore

When I was 17 I became very ill over the period of 2 years. I took visits to the doctors all of the time and was sent away with antibiotics despite me not being able to keep food down, constantly vomiting, temperature raising and losing 2 stone in weight with severe pains in the lower part of my back. I would randomly have days where I woke up and felt unable to move or eat or even function. This went on for two years until it eventually worsened and I turned 19. I hadn’t had symptoms for a few weeks and decided to go out for tea with a few friends.

When we got back to my friends house, things took a huge turn for the worst. I started to experience the pains in my back worse than I ever had before, I was hysterically crying, vomiting repeatedly, and physically could not move because of the pain I was in. I decided it was time to go to the hospital. When I arrived I was rushed in for a scan pretty quickly. There, I found I had an 8mm kidney stone blocking a 3mm tube and that my kidney had doubled in size. (Sepsis and Kidney Stones) I was then put on a lot of drips and given strong pain killers and anti sickness medicine to prepare me for my night in hospital.

The next day I was booked for my first operation. I was told I would be awake, which was the scariest thing to think about. First of all they wanted to insert a drain through my back and into my kidney to reduce the pressure and drain the fluid. I remember texting all of my friends and family and being really nervous but never did I think I was about to be knocking on deaths door in less than 24 hours. I was wheeled down to my surgery. I was sedated and given numbing injections in my back. The surgeons did their best to distract me but the pain was so intense that I passed out during surgery. When I woke up I remember being surrounded by my family and a lot of doctors and nurses taking notes and looking as though something was wrong. I remember being in so much pain I was screaming and crying, begging my mum to tell the doctors to stop moving the drain in my back. I then started shaking but my temperature was so high, my whole bed was wet through excessive sweating. Then I remember loosing my breath and not being able to breathe properly but my heart was pounding. I heard the doctors saying “shes going tachycardic we need to move quickly.”  This is when I was rushed into the Intensive Care Unit. Here they put huge lines into my arteries, more drains, more IV drips and a huge oxygen mask that covered my whole face.

I felt scared and thought I was going to die. I tried to put on a brave face for my mum and dad because I didn’t want them to see me suffer. I could hear the nurses talking to my parents and telling them that the next 24 hours is crucial and that I have sepsis and fluid on my lungs. I had never heard of sepsis and did not know what it was until it was explained to me by a nurse a few days later when I started to recover and was able to talk more. After a few days I was then able to move back on a normal ward to carry on being medicated and receive the help that I need. Throughout my journey I had many complications, from not being able to walk for weeks, 4 surgeries in total and the initial, getting over sepsis.

Still to this day I feel the affects such as extreme tiredness and weakness, not much ability to exercise, sleeping troubles and anxiety. (Sepsis and Post-Sepsis Syndrome) But I am very very grateful to be here at 20 years old to tell my story, as I never dreamed I would of made it. I do think that people should be more aware of the symptoms and effects as sepsis as it is very serious and deadly. I am currently signed up to various charities that raise awareness for Sepsis and love to read other peoples stories.