These Over My Shoulder entries mostly document my experiences of growing up in the 1950s and 1960s. This entry reflects on my 2023 experiences — my sepsis summer. My intent is to share what has been a surprisingly difficult and prolonged illness. Sepsis is a top 5 killer of adults over 60. It often comes on suddenly and is frequently fatal if it is not caught in time and treated properly
it All Began in June
June is very busy for us. We are fortunate to have two homes. Our winter home is in the Carolinas, our summer home in the cooler climate of coastal Maine. We migrate in June. This June was no different. The college baseball season for us ended abruptly. Nothing was keeping us from leaving. Closing the house and packing up is stressful. Our home has a number of systems that keep it cool, the lawn adequately watered and the security system functioning. As we were getting ready to leave a squirrel ate a hole in one of the irrigation lines. Fixing it was no small task. Once that was done, cars packed, we took off. We had planned to take two days to get to Maine with a site seeing stop at Manassas, Virginia. I had always wanted to see the Bull Run battlefield. We left NC very early about 5 in the morning and arrived in Virginia well in time to view the battlefield. I was very tired and found the air heavy and polluted. As we drove on to our NJ evening destination, the smog grew very heavy — the cause of the smog was huge forest fires in Canada. When we left NJ the next morning, officials were closing schools and urging people to stay inside. The weird color of the sky was apocalyptic. I was quite eager to get away from the smoke. Maine did not have the smog, but it was rainy and very cold. It rained or was wet and gray for about 10 days. During that time we carefully cleaned our house, restocked the fridge, got the ice maker working and set ourselves up to have a terrific summer. On June 22 we a celebratory first round of golf. Let the record show that my husband beat by just one stroke, a very promising result. We celebrated with dinner on the club’s deck. I complained that I was very cold, but given how cold it was in Maine compared to the heat of the Carolinas, I did not suspect that I was sick.
Went home and turned in early, bundled up to warm up. At around 4 in the morning I got up to go to the bathroom and tripped coming back to bed. I was unable to get up off the floor. My called EMS. They wanted to take in to the hospital, but I insisted that I was alright and had them put me back in my bed. About two hours later I went to get up again and collapsed on the floor. There was no question about whether I should go to the hospital. I was very incoherent and not thinking straight. The very capable EMS gently and skillfully brought me down three flights of stairs and took me to the nearby hospital. I have very dim memory of being transported and almost no recollection of an entire day spent in ER with medical personnel hovering over me and working on me.
What Went Wrong!
The doctors quickly decided that the problem was sepsis. My fever was 104 degrees Fahrenheit, my heart rate was faster than normal and my blood pressure was low. These are all signs of sepsis. The doctors told my husband that if they had not gotten me to the hospital in just a few more hours, my survival would have been problematic. Mine was a urosepsis caused by a symptomless UTI. After they cultured the bacteria from my blood, they were able to ascertain that it was an E. coli infection.
Here is what they did to me. Cathetered me to monitor my kidney function. My urine looked like thick Coca Cola, very dark and very much of it. They put IV fluids into — bags and bags of fluid. Gave me drugs that would kill the bacteria. They put me on oxygen since my O2 saturation was low. I shivered and shook with fever. By late afternoon, I was admitted to the hospital and moved to a floor. Apparently, I was kept in the ER until I started to respond to treatment; otherwise they would have transferred me to a bigger hospital better able to handle a critically ill patient. I was so out of it that I had no idea of the passage of time. I was intermittently aware that medical personnel were caring for me.
Once admitted to the hospital, I spent 5 days trying to get well. I was very sick, lethargic and not very with it. I remember only snatches of what went on the first day or so — a nurse telling an aide not to put a blanket on my feet since I had such a high fever. I remember sipping ice water from a cup at my bedside, being offered a bit of pudding the only food I had all day. Each day I could tell that I was improving. I wa so unsteady on my feet that I made to use a walker to move about. The second night when my fever finally broke, I was drenched in sweat, my bedclothes were cold and wet. This marked the turn toward recovery. The hospital personnel wanted to send me to rehab facility to more fully recover. I did not want to do this. I was reluctantly discharged when they determined that there was no more infection in my body. They looked hard—blood work and even a CAT scan to see if there pockets of residual infection. I was thrilled to be allowed to go home. I assumed incorrectly that I would be fully recovered in another week or so. This is not the case. I am still struggling 4 months later. My hair has alarmingly come out in a surprising quantity. My energy level has not come back. I played my first round (9 holes) at end of July. I barely made it through 7 holes before I was shaky and felt unwell. It was August before I could actually play 9 holes. The next day was a wipeout. I could barely crawl out of bed and get through my daily routine.
Sinusitis — Another Hit
I have always had change of season allergy/sinus problems. My system was so weakened by the sepsis that I spent over a month and a half battling a sinus infection. Two rounds of antibiotics have for most part gotten rid of it. Now my real task is fully recovering and regaining my strength. I eagerly await that day. Sepsis is a serious illness. You do not recover in a day or two or even a week. It is a slow climb with its share in full measure of setbacks. I have learned to be kinder to myself, accept help in doing tasks and to rest when my body says rest.
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