Some of the information below came from a Feb. 23, 2021 Zoom video from UF Health, Central Florida, titled “SEPSIS: TIME IS CRITICAL”

•  Sepsis is not an infection but rather a complication of, or reaction to, an infection.
• Bacteria can enter broken skin and begin infection
• White blood cells swim out of arteries and capillaries to fight infection
• Blood vessels will enlarge
• Local swelling will occur in the capillaries– can feel throbbing you will get from pain
• Initial infection can spread throughout the body–huge inflammation–all tissues and organs become affected-  brain, lungs, heart, etc–every organ in the body will have massive inflammation
• You become critically ill
• Things such as pneumonia, Covid-19, etc. can bring on sepsis
• About 1.7 million people/year contract sepsis.  Personally, I was not familiar with the term “sepsis” when I contracted it which speaks to the need for more information to be disseminated regarding the dangers of sepsis.

When I was unknowingly coming down with sepsis originally I went to ‘Dr. Duke’s office (he Had replaced both of my hips) and I thought my malaise might be the result of inflammation in a recently replaced hip.  They took an x-ray of the hip and did some blood work.  The following day I received a text from them telling me my CRP (C reactive protein) was 240 as I recall.  As CRP level is an indicator of inflammation, I realized a serious problem existed since my CRP level is usually less than 1.  Shortly thereafter, my wife called for an ambulance to take me to the hospital.  The first hours in the emergency room were critical as they tried to determine what my problem was but at some point, they concluded I had salmonella in the bloodstream, my body systems were shutting down,  and they called in an infectious disease specialist.

Symptoms of sepsis: shivering, fever or very cold, extreme pain or discomfort, confusion or disorientation, shortness of breath

TIME BEFORE RECEIVING TREATMENT IS CRITICAL AS ALL YOUR BODY SYSTEMS AND ORGANS ARE SHUTTING DOWN, INCLUDING YOUR HEART

Statistics show  40% of patients who go to the hospital with sepsis, never survive the hospital stay

My first bout with sepsis in October 2017 involved about a week in the hospital emergency room and ICU, followed by 3 weeks in a rehab center before going home for Thanksgiving,  My second bout began just before Christmas and hospital stay was much shorter because medical personnel were aware of my sepsis history.  They released me right after New Years’ but I went daily to the hospital for an intravenous anti-biotic for a 4 week period.

The second bout with sepsis, around Christmas 2017, may have been new, or possibly they never had completely eradicated the salmonella in the bloodstream from the original infection.  Literally, for weeks after coming home from the second bout, I just existed.  Each succeeding day was no better than the day before!  Eventually, some improvement came slowly, but I never was the same physically after that.  Still, I thank my Lord for allowing me to survive.

Austin Leahy