Sherryl Lynch

In January of 2017 I was admitted to the hospital after becoming ill and going to the ER. The months of November and December leading up to this were hectic and my immune system had become weakened. I was busy with the holidays and family gatherings, travel and was babysitting a friends toddler. I got what I thought was just a cold but kept pushing myself. The first week of January I started feeling worse and by the weekend of the 7th, I was in bed. I couldn’t fight the infection off even with rest and liquids. By Sunday I was so ill I could barely move and my fever had reached 104 degrees.

My son drove me to the ER that night. My heart rate was up and my fever would not come down. They could not determine the source of my illness so they began running numerous tests including an EKG, chest X-rays, blood tests, urine tests and a lumbar puncture. At this time I also started vomiting.

I was severely dehydrated so they started an IV. After running several tests and my condition worsening they admitted me to the hospital still not knowing the cause of my symptoms. The next morning my doctor started me on antibiotics and ran more tests. My white blood count was 21,000 and they started testing my kidneys for infection. He came back later that day and said he suspected it was Haemophilus influenza. He started me on a stronger antibiotic and ran more tests. The test came back positive. I spent 4 days in the hospital, all of which are still a blur to me. The doctor told me I had Haemophilus influenza that developed into pneumonia which had developed into sepsis. (Sepsis and Influenza, Sepsis and Pneumonia)

I am still recovering over a year later. It has been a long, slow process but I am regaining my strength little by little. Sepsis has affected my muscles and strength, my ability to focus, my sleep patterns, my short term memory and my nervous system. Before my illness I had never heard of sepsis. Since then I have done my research and I am telling people about my experience and educating them on this serious illness.