Catherine Garrett

In February of 2022, my husband and I planned a trip with my sister and brother-in-law to South Carolina to get away for a few days. I remember complaining to her about an annoying UTI. In the past, I always treated them at home just fine, but when I got home from the trip, I wasn’t improving, and I was experiencing back pain. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) I thought I had just pulled a muscle, but I was wrong.

In 2019, I nearly lost my life to an amniotic fluid embolism, and ever since then, I feel like my body doesn’t fight illness the same. We decided to get seen. I was diagnosed with a kidney infection. The ER doctor gave us the choice of being admitted or going home. Like most people, we decided to go home. We thought we would be more comfortable at home and that I would be fine. Since it was late at night and a weekend, there was a delay in getting the antibiotics. The next morning, while my husband was away at church with our kids, I went septic. I vividly remember lying in our bed, shaking with cold sweats, trying to stay hydrated between naps. Stupidly, I waited until my husband got home. After he got home and we found a sitter, we went to the ER. I knew what sepsis was because my best friend survived it in 2020, but I didn’t know the signs. Thankfully, after a few uneventful days in the hospital, I was sent home with more antibiotics and recovered just fine.