My Sepsis Story

The appendicitis started on Saturday night at a dinner party. I got violently ill & thought I had food poisoning. I spent the night on the floor in our bathroom. When I finally came to bed, I could barely stand up straight because of the belly pain. Even when I got to our bed, I assumed the fetal position. 

My Husband took me to the ER on Sunday where I was diagnosed with the flu. Monday, I went to work an ashen grey. Tuesday, my appendix ruptured in the afternoon. In hindsight, I felt momentarily better & thought the worst was over. Wednesday, I remember calling my Husband & telling him I felt like I would pass out soon. He told me to tell my Boss, who finally took me to the Hospital around 11 am.

The Triage Nurse instantly took me seriously. The problem was I had no temperature & my blood work was fine. At least I was on a morphine drip. Weeeee!

About 8 hours later that Triage Nurse was going home & saw me still sitting in the ER. She was shocked to still see me there & immediately notified the Doctor. When they finally looked at my CT, the Drs couldn’t tell if my appendix or right ovary had ruptured. They were just excited to have a surgical case & 30 min later I was in the OR.

I never got better and next went my gallbladder in Oct 2013. By this point, we had turned to Naturopathy & after a Meyers Bag I started having seizures and vomiting on December 23, 2013, I bee lined to the hospital. This time it was sludge in my common bile duct and I was treated with an ERCP. I was discharged on December 27th but returned the next day with sepsis. I was so weak I could barely stand up & finally had a fever of 37.6. I spent 18 days over Xmas and New Year’s, mostly in the hospital hallway. That was a tough one.

I had read that once you get sepsis, your chances of getting it again are increased.

That beast laid in wait until July 12, 2019. It presented like kidney stones and I was screaming in pain with a high temperature. (Sepsis and Kidney Stones) I had so many doctors, imaging, and blood tests, trying to find the source of this episode. At best, the diagnosis was gastroenteritis or the common flu. (Sepsis and Influenza)

I feel so full of gratitude. Somehow, I gained enough strength to tour, perform, & even received a Nomination for the Juno Awards in 2018. I got to live out my best life after & during circling the drain 3 times.

I’m 52 now, but once in a while, I can still sing my heart out. Life is silent these days as I’ve had a soul-sucking migraine for almost 7 years, day in and day out. Is it related to Post-Sepsis Syndrome? Possibly…I definitely struggle with PTSD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue, poor appetite, & I have an eagle eye for the next organ dysfunction.

I don’t know why I’ve been spared 3 times now, but I have this huge sense that I’m meant to do more.

I have learned to trust my intuition & my “go time” symptoms. The survival instinct is strong and will keep you here if you listen!