Patricia Garrod

My sepsis started at least a week before I actually went to hospital. I was feeling extremely tired and shaking, so my hands were unable to correctly type on my mobile phone. My concentration was effected too. On the day I was admitted to hospital my colleagues at work became concerned due to my lack of energy and confusion. I had a severe neck ache so I couldn’t keep my head up.

I went to hospital by ambulance which to this day I cannot remember at all, in fact to this day I cannot remember anything about that day or the subsequent 2 weeks. I was in A&E for a number of hours, the doctors already suspecting sepsis and was treated with strong antibiotics for a kidney infection which had been diagnosed very quickly.

At one point I was taken to resus due to my worsening state. Later transferred to Critical Care and then Intensive Care. I was kept heavily sedated as the sepsis had effected my brain causing extreme hallucinations and aggression. (Sepsis and Hallucinations) My family were told that the infection was so severe that I was only given 50/50 to survive.

After 4 days my condition improved enough to be transferred back to Critical Care and then to a renal ward. My hallucinations though continued.
But after a total of 2 weeks on the renal ward, I was finally discharged. I was advised that I would continue to feel extremely tired, which was certainly the case for a number of months. I am extremely grateful to the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) for their expert treatment and care. I would not be here without it.