Brittany G.

It was Easter Sunday April 2023 that I went into septic shock. (Sepsis and Septic Shock) Early in the day I started vomiting, having chills, dizziness. It just didn’t stop along with other symptoms. Each hour got worse, I couldn’t eat or drink anything. Then I couldn’t stand up, it felt like my head was a slab of heavy concrete holding me down. My body was weak and yet my heart was racing at an alarming rate. As an overall healthy 32 year old/ avid runner and gym-goer, this wasn’t normal to me. It felt like my system was shutting down in a matter of hours. Since I couldn’t stand up I couldn’t drive to the ER, I was alone at the time and called an ambulance from my floor.

The EMT’s rushed me to the hospital. At this point I felt like I was going to die, if you’ve experienced septic shock you’ll know what I mean. My BP read 50/40, I was severely dehydrated.

In a short summary, in the ER I had IV fluids and antibiotics through my arm. My body was unresponsive to this so then ER doctors placed a central line in my neck to use vasopressors and stronger antibiotics. This is what saved my life, as the sepsis also caused acute kidney failure and pulmonary edema. (Sepsis and Kidney Failure) My white blood cell count was high, I was placed on oxygen. I was in the ICU for about 4 days, and then transferred to a different unit until I got better. I was there for about a week, considering what happened I felt lucky to be out that quickly.

When I went home I thought the turmoil was over, but less than 12 hours later I was back in the hospital again for another week. The right side of my neck swelled to the size of a small balloon, it felt like a tight rope that wouldn’t let go. I now had a MRSA infection from the central line from my neck. (Sepsis and MRSA, Sepsis and Invasive Devices) So after surviving sepsis, I now had to get through MRSA. I was treated with pain meds and more rounds of antibiotics. Eventually the swelling went down and I was sent home with a PICC line in my arm for at home antibiotic infusion treatment. I just got the PICC line removed after 27 days of treatment. This was a new experience for me like many others. It will take time to get back to my routine and to get my strength back, but im grateful it wasn’t worse. I am hoping for no setbacks. I appreciate the little things more and am staying positive. Taking things day by day mentally and physically. Give yourself grace. Have a good support system. Sepsis is a nightmare and awareness is crucial.