Michelle Birchell

Survivor

I was a 15-year-old in good health, when I was treated for 2 urinary tract infections (UTIs), one after the other, with antibiotics. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) Two weeks following (November 15, 2014), I was admitted to the emergency room with symptoms including nausea and vomiting. I was diagnosed with clostridium difficile, also known as C-Diff. (Sepsis and C. Difficile) I turned septic with the infection only 3 hours after being diagnosed.

The sepsis was so severe, it caused my body to go into septic shock. My blood pressure was not able to stay up on its own, and my pulse rate was very high. By this time, the infection was so severe, my body and all of its organs began to shut down. I was then medically induced into a coma and put on a ventilator for 6 days. Doctors say I had a 50/50 chance to live.

After I awoke, we later realized I wasn’t able to keep down any food or liquids. I had severe pain in my upper and lower stomach. A CAT scan and other tests were run that showed I had pancreatitis and also colitis. A feeding tube was inserted in my left nostril, and a tube to drain my intestines out was inserted in my right nostril. I was admitted to PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) for 8 more days. I stayed in the hospital for a little over two weeks total.

I was also diagnosed with PTSD and will most likely live with challenges I didn’t have before. (Sepsis and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

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