‘I thought I had the flu’: Mom nearly died after dismissing deadly sepsis symptoms
While today’s hospitals have “come a long way” toward sepsis awareness and recognition, Wiggins noted that wasn’t the case in 2015.
“They took a very long time to figure out what was going wrong with me,” she said, adding that doctors at first thought she was afflicted with autoimmune diseases.
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“They kept testing me for different things. Eventually, they admitted me, and I was in the ICU for a total of 10 days – five of which were in a medically induced coma.”
The sepsis ultimately turned into acute respiratory distress syndrome.
“I very much remember not being able to breathe,” Wiggins recalled. “That was by far the scariest part. It got to the point where I had to pause between every word to take a breath, and it was basically like sipping air.”
Now recovered, Wiggins is dedicated to raising awareness about the condition through her nonprofit organization. (Audrey Leishman)
At one point, she later learned, there was a “good chance” she wasn’t going to wake up from the coma.
“When I finally did wake up, it was quite the process of relearning how to walk again, dealing with at-home physical therapy and being on a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter),” Wiggins shared.
The first year of recovery was “very difficult,” she said. “My immune system was so compromised that I was sick constantly.”
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Today, Wiggins says she is healthy but that her memory “is not what it used to be” and that she gets fatigued more often.
The original cause of her sepsis remains unclear, she said, but it may have been linked to her recent IUD removal.
“I did have the diagnosis of toxic shock syndrome, but I also had tonsillitis, strep throat, a UTI and pneumonia,” she said. “I was a very, very sick person.”
What to know about sepsis
In severe cases, infection can spread into the bloodstream, triggering the widespread, life-threatening inflammatory response that is sepsis.
It can quickly lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death if not treated right away, according to Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel.
“The body reacts by making inflammatory chemicals. It’s the immune system revving up … but it can hurt more than help,” he previously told Fox News Digital.
“When I finally did wake up, it was quite the process of relearning how to walk again, dealing with at-home physical therapy and being on a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter),” Wiggins shared. (Audrey Leishman)
Wiggins explained the response with an analogy: “Instead of your body sending out the Navy SEALs, it sends out the entire U.S. armed forces.”
As sepsis worsens, it can cause a drop in blood pressure and interfere with the delivery of oxygen to the body’s tissues, potentially leading to lactic acidosis — a dangerous buildup of lactic acid in the bloodstream.
“Instead of your body sending out the Navy SEALs, it sends out the entire U.S. Armed Forces.”
Every hour that sepsis goes untreated, the mortality rate increases by up to 8%, Wiggins noted.
“Time truly is the most important thing – and getting that early treatment can prevent you from even being hospitalized.”
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One of the most important things people should know, according to Wiggins, is that sepsis can happen from any infection.
“The most common causes are respiratory infections, UTIs and kidney stones, but it can happen from a cut. It can happen from strep throat, the flu,” she warned.
Melissa Rudy is senior health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.
Article source: https://www.foxnews.com/health/thought-flu-mom-nearly-died-dismissing-deadly-sepsis-symptoms