Mavis Bryant

Mavis Bryant, my precious mother was 84 years old and had been undergoing radiation treatments for uterine cancer. (Sepsis and Cancer) On Memorial Day of this year, she was admitted to the hospital for what they told us was bronchitis.

My mother did not seem to improve much: terrible cough and low blood pressure. Still, she was released on the following Friday with a prescription for antibiotics. She had a terrible night of nausea. We called the doctor the next morning and he prescribed anti-nausea medication.

We took her back to the hospital that night. This time the EMT asked if we wanted them to resuscitate her if she stopped breathing. He said he could tell that she had pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) By mid-morning on Sunday, she had improved some and was moved to a room. She stayed there for about three weeks being treated for pneumonia. Near the end of the third week, she started retaining fluid, continuing cough, rapid shallow breathing, and confusion. The IV drugs were changed and she was sent home with the recommendation that she go to a rehab facility.

She was too sick and just wanted to go home. We stayed there less than 24 hours. She became so sick she was taken back to the hospital by ambulance, again asking about resuscitation. There, they ran an IV line in her femoral artery and took her to ICU.

Her doctor said my mother was very sick with no response to the antibiotics and beginning of kidney failure. After one week in ICU, they told us there was no hope and she went home to heaven.

The death certificate listed sepsis as the cause of death with pneumonia as a secondary cause. Please be proactive. If you or a loved one doesn’t seem to be improving with antibiotic treatment, please insist that they be checked for sepsis.

Source: by Lisa Bryant (Mavis's daughter)