Sade Quinn

To this day I still can’t believe how quickly things can change in your body. I remember feeling a little off in work. I had tummy pain and a really bad migraines, however as usual I worked through it because I knew I was off for a couple of days after my shift.

I started to feel better for about 2 days and then it all changed – dizziness, migraine sharp stabbing pains through my body. My throat started to close up and my breathing was shallow and my voice was muffled. I was lay in bed and remember I was feeling extremely cold, shivers through my body and shaking. But I was dripping with sweat to the point where my bed sheets was soaked. I was up for hours and hours 0 sleep. It was then when my mum checked my temperature and it was 41C the next morning and I couldn’t control my bladder. She rang an ambulance and they took me to hospital immediately.

I’m 25 years old and I feel like I tend to get judged on my appearance and age when visiting the hospital or doctors.

The nurse insisted I had the flu and repeatedly told me “you don’t look sick” barring in mind she didn’t know what I looked like on a normal day. She insisted on me doing a Covid test and it wasn’t until that came back as negative that she started to take me more serious. My bloods showed my CRP to be rising to levels above the average 14-20 as mine were reaching highs of 250.

I remember the feeling of “I’m doing to die,” I was on drips and was waiting from 12pm till 5am for my hospital bed. I sent my mum home at 2am as the pain was getting worse and I didn’t want her seeing me in so much pain, but I know deep down the real reason was I felt like I was dying and it scared me knowing she would have to see that.

I was kept In hospital for 3 days I had something called peritonsillar abscess, is a potentially life-threatening deep-neck infection in adults. And bilateral swelling of the my throat walls making it hard to swallow, speak and breathe. This then caused my body to react and start the sepsis. After my hospital stay I was sent home and rested at home with antibiotics for around a week and half. I’m still recovering and not myself. My appetite is off, my sleep schedule is 0 to none. I’m extremely tired all the time and have had many other issues since the sepsis. I struggle to concentrate and feel like I’m forgetting the simplest of things. My body feels like it’s no longer mine. My moods have changed dramatically and things that used to help me feel strong such as the gym feel so much harder. But I am a sepsis survivor and that is all the motivation I need to becoming stronger and back to myself.

Don’t take your health for granted if you’re feeling unwell get your self checked out as that is what saved my life.

Source: Sade