More Faces of Sepsis
Page 10
Christina McMaster - survivor
I will never forget the faces of my children when they learned that I could die. The fear and sadness that they experienced is so heartbreaking. They are 16, 12, and 10. The terrifying fear and grief also affected my husband, but he tried to remain strong for me and for the kids. I should have never gotten septic.
Linda Beltran - survivor
In 2005, I underwent a surgery that changed my life forever. I was 35 years old at the time. My daughter was 13 and my son was 7. The OB/GYN removed a large mass from my right ovary and two days later I went into "septic shock."
Isabel Epstein - survivor
The chills came on a Sunday evening when I was doing homework in my dorm at Colgate University and it wasn’t supposed to be chilly. They were intense, sweaty, and seismic, so I threw on long sleeves, turned the thermostat up to 80, covered myself with three blankets, and downed my fourth cup of tea.
It was weird. Random chills are never a good sign, but I found the timing to be less than satisfactory. Only six days beforehand, I had returned to campus after a full recovery from a very bad case of mono and wasn’t supposed to have strange medical conditions.
Rob Hoge - survivor
One fine day in June, I was attending to some unruly thorn bushes in my backyard when I was pricked in the knuckle. I didn't pay it any mind until 24 hours later when my hand grew to the size of a baseball glove and I’m being rushed to the ER. I had contracted a Grade A Streptococcal infection that ultimately turned septic.
Jen Decker - survivor
Despite living with cerebral palsy, I have been relatively medically stable for most of my 33 years. In April 2011, I underwent a breast reduction. Concurrently, I anticipated having the port-a-cath in my chest replaced, as the current site would interfere with the removal of breast tissue. When the surgeon went in to remove the port, he found adhesions, which prevented him from removing the old device. He ended up only repositioning it. However, I was not informed of the issue until I was admitted about a month later for semi-emergent gall bladder surgery.
Isaac LaBozetta - survivor
By Elizabeth LaBozetta (Isaac's mother
Our youngest son, Isaac LaBozetta, a stone/block and brick mason, loved his job. He got up every morning happy to go to work and eager to get there. How many people can say that? His special ability, said one of his bosses, was that he could lay out a whole building's stone wall on the ground (like a big patchwork quilt) and remember where every single stone belonged as it was set in mortar.
I was glad he found work he loved so much, but the mother in me worried about the hazards of that particular work. Every time there was a news alert on television that a construction worker had fallen or been injured somehow, my blood would freeze until I knew my son was safe. Then one day our family got the call we hoped would never come.
Georjean Parrish - survivor
I am a survivor of Septic Shock, complete organ failure, and fungal infection – the result of a doctor who accidentally punctured my intestines during surgery. My family says I was swollen like a balloon. I remember my hands and feet peeling so badly and my hair falling out.