Brittany Honeycutt

This story is really a survivor and a tribute story. My first encounter with sepsis happened end of 2013 beginning of 2014. I had gone to two separate ERs due to severe kidney pain, I told them I had chronic kidney stones but this pain was worse. They both sent me away. (Sepsis and Kidney Stones) Finally the third ER realized it was a large kidney stone that was stuck. It caused a kidney infection that had progressed to sepsis. After a week in the hospital and a stint placement, myself and my organs made a full recovery. But my story doesn’t end there.

Fast forward to 2022, I am pregnant with my third child and celebrating Christmas with my family and husband. The night of the 25th I started to have pain in my kidney again but I knew this pain it was like before so after a few hours of it getting worse I went to the ER I told them I was 25 w pregnant and had chronic kidney stones and at one point had a kidney infection and sepsis. (Sepsis and Pregnancy & Childbirth) After a few hours and little to no care I was given Tylenol and sent home.

The next day I was not better so after a long drive home, my husband took me up to another hospital in Little Rock, AR. They immediately jumped into action my urine analysis showed the infections and eventually they diagnosed me with having sepsis for a second time, but this time was worse and would cost me so much more. I was only there a few hours on the 26th when I was admitted to ICU. My blood pressure was dropping and my heart rate was sky rocketing. So far baby Sterling was okay but my ob/gyn told me I was so sick that I would not survive a c-section and that they had to focus on one of us. With my oxygen levels dropping and intermittent monitoring of baby, we made it through the night. But on the afternoon of the 27th my body could not keep us both safe and little Sterling’s heart stopped beating. Not 45 minutes later I was sedated and intubated because my lips were turning blue and I was barely able to breathe. I was in the hospital for a little over a week. They said my kidneys will make a full recovery but I left the hospital without my baby and the grief is heavy.