Leslie McGarrah

Within a week of coming home from a routine, out patient medical procedure, I was back in the hospital fighting for my life. (Sepsis and Surgery) It started with a high fever and moved into intense pain, tachycardia and kidney and lung failure. I got to the hospital, was rushed into an emergency surgery and was told I was a few hours away from complete organ failure (so it was a good thing my family got me to the ER when they did).

I spent a week in the ICU, had to have an additional surgery 2 weeks after that to remove the stent they put in my throat and spent a month and half off work attempting to recover. I struggled with residual pleurisy for months because of the fluid in my lungs. Some days just getting up and walking was the hardest thing I had to do. Large chunks of memory are gone and I struggle with cognitive & memory issues as well as PTSD. (Sepsis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) With all that said, I’m lucky just to be here and I’m incredibly happy I get to share my experiences with others. This was a real learning experience to pay attention to my body and realize if I think something is wrong, listen to my body because every minute counts.