Zsuzsanna Fodor

In February 2020, my life changed in just three days. It started with what seemed like nothing serious. I felt unwell, weak, and with inexplicable chills. I went to seek medical help more than once, but I was dismissed. First, it was “nothing.” Then maybe the flu when fever and cough appeared. On the third day I was vomiting and I hardly had any urine, but I didn’t know it was a sign of sepsis, in fact we didn’t know sepsis existed and what it was. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t explain it. I thought it was just the worst flu of my life and I would get better the next day. However on the third night I woke up at 2 AM that I couldn’t breathe.

We called the ambulance.

My blood pressure dropped to 50/20. I was rushed to the hospital at the last possible moment. I don’t remember much after that. They said that if I’d arrived just 5 minutes late, I wouldn’t be here today. What followed was a fight for my life.

I underwent emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder, as it had an infection. However strangely I didn’t have any symptoms of that or previous gallbladder issues. My body had gone into septic shock. Multiple organs were failing. I spent four days in an induced coma, ten days in the ICU. Four weeks in total in the hospital. The doctors saved my life. For that, I will always be grateful. But surviving was only the beginning.

Sepsis didn’t end when I left the hospital.

My right foot had been severely damaged due to heavy medication to keep me alive. Over time, it required partial amputation. I spent a year in a wheelchair because of the surgeries. I still can’t walk properly today. I developed chronic pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, insomnia, cognitive issues and PTSD. My nervous system felt permanently “on.” My body was no longer the body I knew, I felt it turned off.
I was told this might be my “new normal.” In Spain, post-sepsis syndrome is not widely recognized. There was very little structured support after I left the hospital. I felt alone trying to understand what had happened to me — and how to rebuild a life inside a body that felt broken.

The hardest part wasn’t the ICU. It was coming home and trying to function. Due to the pandemic everything shut down and I had no rehabilitation for a long time. 
It was navigating fear, trauma, and uncertainty. I realized I had to become an active participant in my own recovery. I began exploring rehabilitation beyond the basics — nervous system regulation, integrative approaches, lifestyle changes, emotional healing, conscious stress management. Slowly, year by year, something shifted. Today, I live a much fuller life than I once imagined possible. I still carry scars, I live with partial disability. But I also live with deeper awareness, gratitude, and strength.

Why I’m Sharing My Story

Sepsis is not “just an infection.”
Sepsis is your body’s reaction to an infection. It moves fast. It can take everything in days. But what many people don’t see is what comes after survival: the long-term impact, the invisible symptoms, the psychological toll.
The lack of structured post-sepsis support in many countries. I am sharing my story because:
* Sepsis awareness saves lives.
* Early recognition matters.
* Survivors need support beyond hospital discharge.

And because even after profound loss, something new can grow.

Sepsis was the most terrifying experience of my life.
But it was also a wake-up call. It forced me to re-evaluate stress, lifestyle, priorities, and the way I relate to my body. It pushed me into self-discovery, advocacy, and eventually into integrative medicine. I now see my survival not only as luck — but as responsibility. If my story can help even one person recognize the signs earlier, feel less alone in recovery, or believe that rebuilding is possible, then something meaningful has grown from something devastating.

Sepsis nearly ended my life.

Instead, it gave me a second one.
Thank you, Zsu