Samantha L.

My beautiful, smart and very healthy 16-year-old daughter Samantha became gravely ill in February. She had a high fever and chills for several days. We made two trips to the pediatrician and two trips to Cincinnati Children’s ER. On our second trip to Children’s, they ran several blood and urine tests and we waited for the results. They called a couple of days later to let us know they found bacteria in a urine culture and called in an antibiotic. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) By this time Samantha was so sick she couldn’t keep it down.

We went back to Children’s and this time she was septic. The ER staff recognized it and treated her very aggressively with IV fluids and antibiotics. She had an elevated heart rate, low blood pressure, fever and vomiting. Samantha spent four nights in the hospital, one in ICU. We learned during her hospitalization that she had an obstruction in her ureter and her kidney wasn’t draining. Sepsis was caused by an UTI and kidney infection. She has since had surgery and has a ureteral stent until the end of May. She will remain on antibiotics until then. Before this I had never heard of sepsis. I now know what to look for thanks to this website. Prayers to all the families that have been affected by sepsis.

Source: Allison, mother