Trudy Bird

Tribute

Christmas 2015 was going to be an especially memorable one for our family. Christmas was always celebrated at our mother’s home, and was always packed with family and friends. This year would be the last time we celebrated in her home, as her and our step-father were planning on moving to another city and putting the home on the market in January 2016.

We had a wonderful celebration, even though mom wasn’t feeling great; she said that she just didn’t feel 100%, and figured it was just a cold. My sister stayed over-night at mom’s home, and took care of cleaning everything up after the festivities (something mom always did with joy in her heart). Christmas had been on a Friday. Two days later on that Sunday, my sister, Katy, called me to see how our mother was and to check in on her. Katy told me that she sent a text message to our mother and the response made no sense. I contacted my step-father that same Sunday to see how mom was doing, and he said that she was resting and had been sleeping off and on since Christmas night (two days before).

They went to the doctor’s office on Tuesday, December 29th. Mom’s doctor was out of town on vacation, so she was seen by the doctor filling in. This doctor examined mom, and told her that she seemed to have the flu, and told her to go back home, rest, and get plenty of fluids. This is exactly what she had been doing since Christmas night. I called a few times that week to see how mom was doing. Every time I called, my step-father would say that she was resting, and wasn’t feeling much better.

On Saturday morning, January 2nd, I received a call from my step-father saying that he was taking mom to the Emergency room to get checked out. They would have gone the day before, but since it was New Year’s day, they felt it would be a nightmare. After the call, I left immediately to meet my mom at the hospital. I was led back to her Emergency exam room. She looked so frail and she was so hoarse that she could barely speak. She was so happy to see me walk in. The doctor came in to examine her and requested a urine sample. Mom came out of the bathroom about 5 minutes later empty handed, and said that she couldn’t do it. I was kind of upset with her, thinking that she was just too clumsy to get her urine in the small cup. What was actually the case is that she had no urine to put in the cup.

After a few tests, the ER doctor admitted mom to the hospital. The first night, she was on the Med/Surg floor. The doctors didn’t seem to have much urgency, and just kept pumping mom with fluids and antibiotics. Mom was in and out of sleep, but completely unable to talk. This was the last time we were able to communicate with mom. Later that night, on January 3rd, she was moved to ICU. On January 6th, at 7:39am, mom passed away. Her organs, one after another, gave up. She didn’t look like the mother I knew and loved. As I write this tribute one and a half years later, it all still feels as though it happened yesterday. It was so quick and so sudden that I still can’t get my thoughts and heart around what happened.

Sepsis took our mother so quickly and without any warning. I look back and wonder if we had only taken her the the hospital instead of the doctor’s office that fateful Tuesday, would that have saved her? I grapple with these thoughts often, but know that nothing will bring her back. What mom would want is for no one else, and no other family, to have to go through this. Me and my entire family are very grateful for all that the Sepsis Alliance does to raise awareness of how terrible and prevalent Sepsis is. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of mom. Her absence has changed our family in so many ways. I pray for all of those that are affected by Sepsis, but the survivors and the families of left behind. Thank you.

Source: Kellee Everts, Trudy's daughter

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