After working on development of one of the country’s first electronic sepsis alerts, followed by 18 years of leading teams in early detection and treatment of sepsis, I thought I knew everything there was to know about sepsis. But I did not know how it makes you feel. That all changed in 2016 when I developed severe sepsis after just a couple of days of fever from undiagnosed pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) There was no preceding upper respiratory illness, no cough, just fever and extreme fatigue. It was about the sickest I had ever felt, with that vague yet horrible ... Read Full Story

My mother passed away on April 30th, 2024 after 48-hour battle in the hospital with sepsis. My mother started complaining of abdominal pain on April 27th in the afternoon after we went out to lunch. Shortly after we returned home from running errands and grabbing lunch at Kerby’s Coney Island, my mother started vomiting on and off until later in the evening. Initially, she thought, she may have gotten food poisoning. Shortly after midnight on April 28th, my mother passed out getting up to go to the bathroom. She was extremely pale and had no strength to get up. I ... Read Full Story

In 2019 I was bitten on my chest by a mosquito. Within an hour, that bite had taken over most of my left breast. By hour 2, I had a climbing fever and felt nauseous. 6 hours later, my husband was told I had flesh eating  disease and was in septic shock. (Sepsis and Necrotizing Fasciitis) I had emergency surgery and was fighting to live before midnight. I spent 7 days in ICU, intubated with a large open wound on my chest. Doctors and nurses were surprised I was alive, But I had 2 young kids and a husband to ... Read Full Story

I was 21 and woke up having to use the bathroom. When I couldn’t my mom came in and took my temperature which was sky high. In the hospital I was immediately admitted with adult respiratory disress syndrome, toxic shock syndrome and sepsis all from an unknown cause. They thought maybe an ear infection? Three months in a coma and 6 mo the in rehabilitation I was deemed well enough to go home. That’s when the PTSD and panic attacks began. Horrible nightmare too of my time in a coma. 30 years later. I Processing every day but it’s still ... Read Full Story

In the summer of 2022, I was having stomach issues. I went to Urgent Care, and they ordered a CT scan. The Urgent Care Clinic called me later that day and asked me to please go directly to the emergency room because the CT showed that I had a major bowel obstruction. The ER disagreed and I was sent home. Two weeks later I was still having issues and went to my primary care provider who ordered another CT scan. This time the radiology department did not even let me leave the hospital, instead escorting me back to the ER. ... Read Full Story