Until recently I, like most of you, was vaguely aware of sepsis. I knew it was bad and often fatal but I didn’t know the details such as the symptoms, treatments and after effects. I didn’t know the frequency of cases or the statistics on survival. But that all changed for me over the past four months. I am now a survivor of sepsis and I live with the aftermath.
September is Sepsis Awareness Month and I’ll be sharing my experience and what I’ve learned with you. You are certainly free to tune out because it doesn’t sound like much fun but if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone including someone you love or even you. We all need to know the signs.
Septicemia or sepsis used be referred to as blood poisoning. It happens when the immune system is overwhelmed by infection. The infection can come from anywhere. It can be as big as a result of surgery to as small as a scratch from a dog. Consider that for a minute. Mine was caused by a bite from a tick carrying the ehrlichia bacteria.
There are three stages. Sepsis, severe sepsis (which I had), and septic shock. In the United States there are 1.7million cases of sepsis annually. Of those 270,000 people die.
In my next post I’ll introduce you to the symptoms. Stay safe everyone.
5 comments:
We know sepsis very well. Sepsis was one of the issues that caused Mackie's dad's death. It's horrible we are so happy that your doctors were able to get it under control and that you made it, Miss Sue, because so many don't.
What you have suffered and gone through has been tragic, and we still have paws together for you each and every day. It's good to push for more awareness of sepsis, as it is an ever increasing medical problem that affects many, with little warning ...
My lifelong best friend just died 2 weeks ago from sepsis, she had all of that you mention here, had it 3 times in 3 years, she had a wound on her leg that would not heal, 5 years of every friday going in for wound care. a year ago she almost died and went through a similar expereince to yours. this is a horrid disease and I will be interested to here what you can tell us about it.. prayers for continued healing
That sounds awful. I am sorry you went through that, but glad you survived.
Education about medical cases is important, espcially coming from someone who has experienced it.
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