Michael Lloyd

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On September 11, 2014 my 40-year-old loving husband passed away after being sick for only 18 hours. He had lived 30 years without a spleen (Sepsis and an Impaired Immune System).

My nightmare started when Mike woke up around 6 AM with a headache. He sent an email to some coworkers that said he would not be into work that day. He gradually got worse throughout the day and developed chills, a low-grade fever, and he was nauseated in the afternoon. Our 4 boys had all just started the new school year and he saw them all come home from school and talked to each of them.

After dinner, I took one of my boys to a soccer scrimmage and brought my 5-year-old with me since Mike was not feeling well. We all thought he had the flu and even though he felt lousy, we never realized how seriously ill he was.

At 7:30 PM, Mike called me and said he was feeling worse and thought he better go to the emergency room. I left the soccer field immediately with my youngest and a friend brought my other son home later. When I arrived home, he was in bed, but he thought he was feeling a little better. I said we are going to the ER. He hated hospitals ever since he had his spleen removed as a 9-year-old and nearly lost his life. About 30 years ago, Mike’s dad acted quickly and rushed him to the ER after a playground accident, which ruptured his spleen.

Back to September 10, 2014, he walked into the ER on his own at 9 PM. He spoke for himself to get checked in and I proceeded to tell them that he did not have a spleen. They checked us in very quickly after commenting that he did not look well, and took his blood pressure, which was very low. They hooked him up to IV fluids, which brought his BP up quickly. I was concerned with the low BP, but I thought since the fluids brought it up so quickly he was just dehydrated.

They drew his blood two times because the first time it coagulated before they could run the blood test. The nurse thought it was a problem with the machine that transported it upstairs to the lab, so she took another blood sample and walked it up to the lab. While they were running the blood test, they took him for a chest x-ray and CAT scan. When they brought him back his color had gotten worse and he developed a rash starting at his forehead and was progressing down his face. This is when I started getting very concerned. They also had trouble getting an oxygen reading, so they gave him oxygen through his nose. About an hour had passed since we got there and things were getting scary!

They got his blood-work back and asked me “how long has he been sick, because nothing looks good with his blood?” I told them that he was sick less than 16 hours. I have gone over the days leading up to this day, and he was very healthy and active including playing in the yard with our boys the night before, coaching soccer, and working out the day before he got sick.

They moved him from the one ER room to another with more equipment. They said they were going to intubate him. I was still in the room while they managed to do this. I started to panic and then he went into cardiac arrest and they pushed me out of the room. I listened outside the curtain and overheard that his organs were failing. Just then my Mom walked into the hallway. I went to a small room and began to pray like I have never done. I was truly brought to my knees. I was told by the nurse and doctor that they were performing CPR and giving him medicine to revive his heart. They did get his heart rate back, but it was most likely a side effect of the medicine. I was allowed to go in and I guess say goodbye while they were performing CPR. Meanwhile family started arriving in disbelief. My husband walked into the ER at 9 PM and was gone shortly after midnight. The hardest thing I have ever had to do was tell our four boys that their amazing dad did not make it and had passed away.

On September 11, 2014 our lives changed forever. It took me over nine months to get the courage to write this, but I hope it raises awareness for septic shock and especially people living without their spleen. The bacteria that was listed on the reports was streptococcus pneumonia (Sepsis and Pneumonia).

Mike and I were married for almost 16 years and we have four boys. They were 13, 11, 11, and 5 at the time he passed away. He was the oldest of six siblings and was a brilliant, kind, and adventuresome man. He was a co-founder of catholicmatch.com where he worked as a computer programmer. He attended West Point and then transferred to Geneva College and he graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Computer Science. He is missed by many every day and by his family every hour.

Source: by Melanie Lloyd (Michael's wife)

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