Pat Essner

2017 Memorial Day Weekend – I was 67 years old, widowed and living alone.
I was in treatment with antibiotics off and on 2-3 months for a UTI, and currently on an antibiotic, a culture was taken but no results. I never had fever or pain with any of my UTIs, I knew I had them because of severe fatigue difficulty with urination. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infection)

About 11:30 pm Sunday I awoke with nausea. Immediately vomited, just once. Extreme chills and unable to get warm. I must have had a fever because I awoke wringing wet, along with my bedding. My daughter came the next morning (Monday), helped me shower, changed my bedding. She stayed all night with me. I spike another fever overnight but it subsided by morning. She took me to the doctor Tuesday afternoon. He said he was waiting for the culture, keep taking antibiotic and drink a lot of fluid.

My daughter stayed with me another night, no fever at all, Wednesday she went back to work. (She lives 50 miles from me). I remained exhausted and slept most of the time, but that night I began hallucinating, seeing weird things, unexplainable. I did not tell my daughter about them, I didn’t feel sick, no fever, no pain.

I waited for the culture and on Friday I believe I had the cardiomyopathy. I struggled to get out of bed, extremely difficult, had to hang on to the wall to the living room to get to the living room Saturday when I went to the hospital. Septic shock, cardiomyopathy and kidney failure. (Sepsis and Septic Shock, Sepsis and Kidney Failure)

I went home the next Friday with an ejection fraction of 20-25%. I have not regained all I have lost, was good for awhile but not now.
Fatigue, very weak, short breath, can’t do a whole lot.
So I sew, I started making prayer quilts, bought a long arm and have given over
400 to sick folks, many have passed on. It is given me purpose.