Anastasia Lucia
In January, 2019, I fell on the ice and severed my femur, which resulted in a hip replacement. Six weeks following that, same hip get slammed by a malfunctioning elevator door, almost knocking me to the ground. From that point on, my leg was constantly draining what seemed to be lymphatic fluid. The doctors input on this, “I’ve never seen this before. I guess some people are extra juicy”. This went on for weeks, until there developed an infection. Now 8 weeks of antibiotics with a PICC at home. Continued pain off and on… for 4 years! Sometimes so bad, I could not stand let alone walk.
Two years in, all of my hair falls out. Alopecia is the diagnosis with no explanation. Over the course of the next two years, my blood pressure was sky high, even on meds, I was constantly dizzy, nauseous, headaches, fatigue. I also developed a DVT. My thyroid (history of Hashimoto’s) was so out of whack, we could not get it regulated. I go see a chiropractor for the leg, back and hip pain. 2 days later, I’m in excruciating pain, couldn’t stand, delirious, and I pass out. Ambulance comes, new doctor tells me my leg and hip replacement is so badly infected, I need a full revision and I have sepsis. (Sepsis and Joint Replacements)
His plan, to save my life first, then worry about saving my leg. I was in kidney failure, had a blood clot in my lung, in tachycardia, had multiple blood transfusions (both in OR and during weeks of recovery). I was in septic shock. I spent the next 4.5 months in the hospital and continued on antibiotics for six more months. During which time, I also had paracentesis twice at the surgical site for excessive fluid build up and once more a year later. The hair loss is from the severity of the infection in my bloodstream.
I still suffer with chronic leg pain and the infection was so bad, that when they put the new hardware in, so much bone had been infected and needed to be scraped from my pelvic hip socket area and the top of the remaining femur, my leg is almost 1/2” shorter than the other. But, I’m alive!
Sepsis is NO joke. Even if you don’t realize how close to death you are while going through it.
