Shanisha Bennett

My happy time ended up not being so happy. I was on a cruise to the Caribbean to get married on the beach. The first night of the cruise was fine. I got married the second day of the cruise and all was well. That evening, I ordered room service to my cabin, a steak sandwich. The next morning I woke up and I just felt off. Not too sick but definitely felt something going on. I was sluggish and just wanted to lay around. The next day of the cruise I was still just off. I was even more tired and I had chills but I shrugged it off as a cold. The cruise continued for 3 more days and each day I just felt a little sicker but still ok to function. I spent a lot of time sleeping. I arrived back in the states on that Saturday and by the time Sunday rolled around, I figured I better call the doctor. I developed a high fever, about 104 degrees. I had chills and started to get a skin rash and felt terrible.

I decided to go into the ER that day. When I arrived at the triage area, they took vitals and temperature and asked me to stand up to walk back to the treatment room. I stood and then passed out. It was very brief. The nurse brought a wheel chair for me and wheeled me to a treatment bay. The doctors took my blood, looked me over and sent me home. Three hours later, I received a call from the ER telling me I immediately needed to come back to the hospital as I had bacteria in my blood. We rushed back to the hospital and I was admitted and had blood draws frequently. It took three days for the doctors to figure out what was wrong with me. I had septicemia due to salmonella bacteria. It was rare. The salmonella didn’t make me sick like it does others, it went straight to my blood.

I was in the hospital for a week fighting the infection. It took me 4 months to feel back to my normal self. I was lucky to survive without any issues. I am thankful everyday for the doctors who saved me.