Tina H.

I’m 55 years old. My sepsis started with a urinary tract infection that I didn’t even know I had. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) My first symptom was nausea and it quickly progressed to mental confusion, extreme weakness and shortness of breath. I could barely walk. My son drove me to the ER and I had to have a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk into the ER. Diagnosed with sepsis, septic shock, acute kidney failure and ketoacidosis from being diabetic. (Sepsis and Septic Shock, Sepsis and Kidney Failure, Sepsis and Diabetes) I wound up being placed in the ICU for 3 days due to breathing problems. I was in a regular room for an additional two days. I had to have a kidney stent placed. I probably saw 15 different doctors/specialists while I was in the hospital. They were taking blood it seems every 6-8 hours and my veins suffered. My arms looked like I had been beaten.

Since leaving the hospital, I have had a variety of after effects such as nausea, poor appetite, migraines, insomnia, and hair loss. About 6 weeks post-discharge, I had to go to the urologist to see if my infection was gone. I found out I have a new infection caused by a different bacteria. More antibiotics. I’m pretty scared that this infection will lead to a 2nd bout of sepsis. It’s all I think about night and day so PTSD is a possibility too. (Sepsis and PTSD)

I also was laid off the week before going to the ER and now I can’t look for a job until I get well again. I always thought if you had a close call with death, you’d come out of it really appreciating life. However, it seems the opposite has happened with me. I’ve withdrawn from family and friends, never go out and I constantly have one word on my mind, sepsis. It’s something that I hope no one I care about ever has to go through.