Got Sepsis? Well, that has been the question of the week...
What a week this has been. From the ER to feeling great. From passing kidney stones to feeling great again. From spiking a fever and to going back to the ER to being admitted to the hospital, the past 10 days have been a roller coaster.
The summary of this blog is that I was hospitalized for Sepsis and a Kidney Infection and am home recovering now.
For those that like to know the details of the days, you’ll want to continue. I’ll share some funny moments, frustrating times, and the scary reality of what I was dealing with.
On Thursday, January 17th, I woke up and had a bit of burning when I went to the bathroom. It had happened one day the prior week, but I didn’t think anything of it as it only happened that one time. Within 10 minutes, I had to go again. Ugh! It was 6:30 am and I was getting ready for work as I was going into the office that day. I continued to get ready for work as I felt completely fine but had to stop multiple times as the urgency to go was so strong. At this time, it was burning quite bad. I started my working day at home as I wouldn’t leave for the office until 8:15 however I could barely work because of the constant urge to pee! Because I had just, the day prior, talked to a friend who was experiencing this same thing, she told me about the AZO cranberry pills and so I headed to Walgreens to get them. Walgreens is literally outside my neighborhood, so I was gone for less than 10 minutes. By the time I got home, I thought I was going to pee my pants. I’m not even kidding. I ran from my car into the bathroom and that’s when I noticed the blood. This changed everything. Jeff took Taryn to school and I started researching. I oiled up and then called my doctor, who couldn’t see me until the following week so then reached out to a friend who had recently seen a general practitioner that she liked. I called them and after getting registered into their system, they let me talk to a nurse. The nurse was wonderful. She asked me tons of questions and went through all my symptoms (my one symptom basically), and my health history. She said “Mrs. Dailey, this sounds very serious. You are not going to like what I have to say but we need you to go to the ER.” The ER? What.the.heck..? I have no fever, I feel fine (except for burning and urinating blood). She proceeded to tell me that they have plenty of openings today but with the amount of blood I am explaining (I’ve never been able to see blood in my urine before), it’s important I get it checked out and that they run the proper tests.
Ok then..
Jeff was working from home that day and so I went into where he was working and told him what the nurse said. He closed his laptop and was ready to go. I was NOT ready to go. I had a client meeting that afternoon and other commitments at work that I needed to take care of quickly. My heart suddenly started racing because I felt this sudden heaviness. Again, I feel fine! I called my coworker and let her know what’s going on, I changed out of my work clothes and into comfy clothes and off we went. I text my friend who immediately called and prayed with me and then sent a text to our group so they’d be in prayer as well. I had a couple of other friends who knew what was going on and I text my Mom on my way to the ER.
We arrive, I filled out one piece of paper and the nurse was standing there already ready for us. We are barely through the doors and the doctor approaches asking us what’s going on. They take my vitals, and everything is good. They took a sample from me and the doctor asked me all the same questions the nurse earlier asked on the phone. I think they were looking at me funny because I’m fully ready for work, hair is fixed, makeup is on, I feel fine, look fine, act fine, etc. They came back with the results and said I had a bad bladder infection. They said it probably went undiagnosed for quite some time because I had no symptoms. We were in and out of the ER in 30 minutes.
Jeff and I dropped the prescriptions off at CVS. They said they wouldn’t be ready until 5 pm and so we headed to get something to eat and get home to continue our working day. By the time we got home the blood in my urine was nearly gone (visibly). It was no longer red! Halleluiah! I oiled up again and took another internal dose. Jeff applied many to my spine and soon, the urge to go every 10 minutes had lessened to every 30-45 minutes. Things were progressing right along. We both continued our work day. I spoke with my friend who recommended I get D-Mannose and so I headed to whole foods after I finished up some work to get that. I also continued with the cranberry pills and of course using essential oils internally and topically. I spoke to my friend who is a nurse and she was a bit confused by the specific antibiotic they prescribed me as it’s not something her doctors typically prescribe for a bladder infection. Around 9 pm, I received a text from CVS that my prescription was ready. I already knew I likely wasn’t going to be taking it but I certainly wasn’t leaving the house at this time to go get it.
Friday was a typical day. I continued to feel fine and the urge to go was less and less. By this point, my urine was practically back to normal and the burning was mostly gone. I continued with the oils, the D-Mannose and the cranberry pills. I was drinking as much water as I possibly could and I cut caffeine.
Saturday, I woke up feeling great and went about my day. Around 11:15 am, I suddenly felt like I was being stabbed with knives 🔪🔪 in my lower back and abdomen. We were at a friend’s basketball game about 20 minutes away and I cried all the way home. I read articles off and on for 5 hours and was positive that I was passing kidney stones. I oiled up, took many oils internally, and laid on the heating pad, rotating it from my back to my abdomen. If I had not of had a hysterectomy 12 years ago, I would have sworn on my life that I was in labor. That pain was no joke. I’m so very sorry to all of you who have experienced kidney stones.
The question of taking the antibiotics keeps coming up, however I was still holding out. At this point, I know they can’t help the kidney stones, as a matter of fact, every article I read tells me that they can make stones worse. This is the last thing I need right now. I was still monitoring my urine and my body very closely and knew I would take them the minute I thought it was necessary. Prior to this stabbing pain today, I thought I was in the clear.
One thing I want to make very clear. I’m not totally against antibiotics. I know there is a time and place for them and for lots of medications. Even though I choose to use natural solutions for my health, I’m not 100% against modern medicine. I’ve been educated over the past several years and no longer choose to run for an antibiotic for every little fever and ailment, but it doesn’t mean I’m totally against them. I very much dislike them, that is no secret at all, and I have very good reason for that. In this situation, it seemed like there was no point in taking them. I was not sick. I didn’t feel sick. I didn’t have a fever. Yes, I had blood in my urine for 3 hours.. and yes, I know that is a pretty big deal. Had I of known then what I know now, this absolutely would have changed my decision, but I didn’t know. You also must understand that I was taking natural antibiotics. I was not taking the easy way out by using natural solutions. Believe me, in the short term, it would be much easier to pop the pill that was sitting in the kitchen, but I was not yet at that point. I know the long-term effects of antibiotics and I just was not ready to subject my body to all that comes with taking them. With Essential Oils and natural solutions, there are NO side effects and not only that, by using all these oils I was also supporting my body in so many other ways.
This picture below shows a good majority of what I was using to fight the bladder infection, relieve pain and stay functioning. The Oregano Essential Oil alone will fight the nastiest of infections but I’m wasn't stopping there, I was supporting my body from multiple avenues, in a natural and healthy way.
I’ve also included two great articles that I’d like for you to read. I’m constantly reading and educating myself on natural solutions and found these to be helpful.
https://observer.com/…/the-5-most-powerful-all-natural…/amp/ https://draxe.com/oregano-oil-benefits-superior-prescripti…/ After 6 hours of the most intensive cramps and back ache, I finally passed the kidney stones. Within an hour, my body relaxed, and I felt completely normal again (except for my body aching from being so tense for 6 hours and from being in the fetal position). The thing I didn’t notice then but looking back, I now know… I had no appetite Friday and Saturday (more about that later).
Sunday, I woke up and felt great (again). While picking up around the house, I even stopped to do FB live on my business page so everyone could see that I was doing great! I watched church live, attended a church lunch for all the Life Group leaders, hosted Life Group at our house that afternoon/evening and then did my online training for my business. I crawled into bed around 10 pm and within an hour, my lower back started hurting. Oh. My. Gosh. Here we go again. Round two of kidney stones. Another 5 hours of intense pain, rolling from side to side, in the fetal position, laying straight, wanting to vomit, peeing every 15 minutes because I know sooner or later another stone is going to pass. I tried drinking a ton of water but damn the pain was so intense that I just wanted to bash the cup against my head. Finally, around 4 am it passed. My body calmed again, and I was able to get a bit of rest.
My 5:30 alarm Monday morning came all too soon. I text my coworker that I was going to sleep a few more hours and would be working as soon as I could. I couldn’t sleep much but I tried. Something just didn’t feel right. I felt a bit lethargic. I assumed it was from not getting any sleep but something else just seemed off. I think It was in this moment that I decided to take the antibiotic (Jeff seems to think I started it Sunday evening, but I can’t remember). According to how many pills are gone from the bottle, he is correct, but I just don’t remember (far too much has happened since then). I slept off and on until 9 am and then I tried to work. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t get through an email without having to shake my head to focus and really strain to get through each sentence. I text my coworker that I’d be taking a sick day and I shut my laptop down and tried to sleep. Suddenly I felt like I was going to freeze to death. My bedroom is the hottest room in the house when we have our heat on and so I immediately knew something was not right. No one is ever cold in our room, especially if the fan is not on. I found the thermometer and sure enough, I had a fever of 102.5. Great, just great. You can imagine that I was not happy and of course blamed the antibiotics. I was totally cursing the fact that I took that dumb antibiotic. I kept thinking “I knew I shouldn’t have started taken them” but continued to because I was all in at this point. I tossed and turned. I went from freezing to sweating profusely. My temp spiked to 104.4 (the highest it reached) and I truly felt horrible. I could barely get out of bed to use the restroom. I continued to oil up and take the antibiotic. The lowest I could get it was 101.6. It stayed at 102.5 most of the day, throughout the night and into Tuesday. And yes, I know, it’s not the antibiotics fault. You have to hear my humor through this 😊.
After 24 hours of having a fever of 101.6 – 104.4, and pain in my lower back, Jeff took me back to the ER. The nurse remembered us and this time, they did thorough testing. They took a chest x-ray, CT scan, lab work, checked for flu, Sepsis, strep, TB, etc. Everyone in the ER loved coming into our room. Although I was ill, I love talking about essential oils and each person that came in said it smelled like a spa in there. This is just from the oils Jeff and I each had applied topically earlier in the day. The lab results indicated that all my organs were functioning as they should be. My lungs were clear and there were no more kidney stones (thank GOD!!). The doctor said all my labs look great and there’s no real indication of an infection, however, the high fever is an indication of something going on and so they wanted to admit me to receive IV antibiotics, further testing and close monitoring. I’m allergic to one antibiotic but since we don’t know which one, it’s scary for me to take them. Back in 2011, I had a horrible staph infection and they pumped me with 12 antibiotics in about a 1.5 – 2 hours, giving me 3-4 at a time. One of them caused me to have hives and made my head super itchy. I scratched my head until my scalp bled. Jeff had to hold my hands while the Benadryl kicked in. So… antibiotics are scary, not only because of the side effects but because I’m just not sure which one affects me. My Dad was allergic to penicillin and so I typically stay away from that, but I have taken it and I survived.
Since it’s
Tuesday, Jeff had to pick the girls up from school, get Taryn to dance and then go to Jayden’s game. He did not want to leave me by myself, but I insisted I’d be fine as I just wanted to sleep anyway. I didn’t want Jayden to worry when he didn’t see either one of us at the game. He knew I was sick, but Jeff would of still attended and so I wanted things to stay as normal as possible for them. We said our good-byes and I rode in an ambulance to the hospital. I was at the free-standing Methodist ER and so they had to transport me to the actual hospital. Thankfully, I hadn’t been in an ambulance since I was a young girl when I wrecked my bicycle, so I didn’t really know what to expect but I certainly didn’t except that bumpy of a ride. I’m grateful I had pain meds via IV prior to the ride. The paramedics were great. Super friendly and professional. I felt like I was in good hands, it was just a little bumpy.
I get to the hospital and into my room and honestly, I just want to sleep. My sweet nurse comes in and gets me admitted. This took a while which seemed like forever. Not only because there were a ton of questions, but we hit it off and couldn’t stay focused to get through all the questions. Another nurse came in and hooked me up to a heart monitor. Oh yea, in the ER I was having Afib so now I had to wear a heart monitor. She told me that I’d be receiving IV fluids and that the doctor would be in later to evaluate me.
I was freezing but they wouldn’t give me a blanket because my fever was so high. Matter of fact, I had ice packs on the back of my neck and forehead because it was so high. As soon as it would break, I’d be a sweaty mess. I tried to rest but was feeling miserable.
The doctor came in and asked me a couple of questions. I didn’t really have the energy to ask him questions, I didn’t even know what to ask to be honest. He said I’d be there for a couple of days for IV antibiotics and fluids.
During shift change at 7 pm, my day nurse and my new night nurse were in the room with me and my day nurse was giving her a report on me. She said, “Mrs Dailey was brought in Sepsis……”. SEPSIS? What the…….!!?? I recalled them saying in the ER that they were testing me for this, but they didn’t say any more about it, so I didn’t think any more about it. I wasn’t freaking out, mostly because I was just too sick to freak out, but I was confused. Why didn’t they tell me this? Is this why the doctor wanted me admitted? Jeff arrived within the hour and so I mentioned this to him, and he said that when I was getting a CT scan at the ER the nurse came in and said the results for Sepsis were negative and so we didn’t’ have to worry about that. Whew, big relief but why would they say this? I kind of blew it off for the moment because I wanted to talk to Jeff and see how Jayden’s game was, see how Taryn was doing and how she took the news that I wouldn’t be home for a few days. I hate being away from them! I was tired and so was Jeff. He headed home I tried to get some sleep.
The pain meds they gave me at the ER had worn off by this time, so I requested more. I also requested to speak to the charge nurse about this Sepsis diagnosis. She explained to me that Sepsis is in my chart as they didn’t know exactly what was going on and because of all the tests that they ran over at the ER, that’s the “category” I was placed in. My lab work for Sepsis was negative! Matter of fact, all my labs were good, all my organs are functioning properly, and My CT scan was clear as was my chest x-ray.
Now I feel much better! I know how dangerous Sepsis can be, I had an uncle pass from it. I try to sleep, but I can’t. It’s like I can’t turn my brain off. Here are the messages I typed in my notes to keep Jeff updated on my night. I started to update them to be “appropriate”, but this is me.
11:00 I can’t sleep. My eyes won’t even stay closed. It’s like this clock is right beside my head.
11:45 If I turn the TV back on I might be able to go to sleep but it’s so bright, I don’t want to turn it back on.
12:15 Just got more Tylenol. Still trying to sleep.
12:45 Nurse just came in to take my vitals again. BP 103/65 temp 101.5.
1:15 I thought I went to sleep and slept for several hours, turns out it was only 10 minutes. Now I have to pee. But it’s freezing in here and I don’t want to get on the bed.
1:45 I turned in the bed and my IV line got pinched and the machine started going crazy and beeping at me. LOL
2:00 this is BS!!! Why can’t I sleep😬! And the cold sweats have started again 😫 and I swear this loud ass clock is about to get tossed out the damn window.
2:45 they must’ve given me something that doesn’t allow me to sleep. I never have a problem sleeping.
3:00 nurse just came in and did vitals again. BP 115/70😳😳. High for me. Temp 99.9. Another round of Tylenol and Toradol.
3:45 Went from freezing to completely burning up. Ice pack on my head and on the back of my neck. I just want to sleep!
4:00 why did I agree to this??
4:15 back to positive thinking. Going to talk to myself about relaxing my mind and muscles to try and sleep.
6:00 Hallelujah I slept. The nurse just came in to give me my morning meds and to draw blood and give me new bag of fluid. It’s now
Wednesday morning….
My fever is still spiking every couple of hours and I get terrible cold sweats and then I’m burning up and feel like I’m on fire. It’s the craziest thing. Other than that, and the pain I have in my lower back, I was feeling ok. I wasn’t as dizzy and wasn’t as confused per se. Jeff arrived around 8:30 and hung out with me all morning. He worked from the hospital while I rested and chilled. My nurse was great. She came into my room once and was sniffing the air. “What’s that?... What IS that?” We shared with her that we’d just applied essential oils and she explained that she’s been stuffed up today but as soon as she came into my room she opened up and could breathe better. She called another nurse who was also under the weather and told her to come in there. Before I knew it, I’d talked to 6 nurses about essential oils. Some knew about them and some didn’t. I can’t wait to share more with them.
I had a few visitors this day which was really nice. It not only helped pass some time, but it’s good for the soul to chat with girlfriends. I really do have great friends. My friend, the nurse I mentioned before, has been such a great help through this whole process. She understands my oily side and I respect her medical knowledge. I kept her informed of every step and she was able to further explain things to me when I needed it.
The doctor finally came in around 1:30 pm and told me they are treating me for a kidney infection. Even though my lab work doesn't show an infection (likely masked from the antibiotics I took..see, I knew I shouldn't have taken them!! LOL - I'm kidding people!!), and all my tests have come back in a good way, all the symptoms point to a kidney infection. This was not the same doctor as yesterday however, he said the same thing as the other doctor in that I’ll be here a few days as they need to administer the antibiotics by IV and monitor my heart. He also said that it seems like I may have had this infection for quite some time as kidney infections don’t just pop up and become this severe overnight. Through out the day, I did start to feel like I was feeling better. At some point this day, I asked my nurse if I could get a new IV. The original one was in the bend of my arm and each time I bent my arm for more than 2 seconds; the IV machine would start beeping. The nurses finally showed me how to reset the machine myself because it was constantly going off. The charge nurse tried to start a new IV in my arm, but after digging around for a few minutes to hit the vein I surrendered and said it would be ok to just leave it where it is. I know this was an inconvenience to them, but it was also an inconvenience to me having it where it was (have you ever tried wiping with your non-dominant hand??).
I was texting with some of my friends in a group chat and one of them, who lives in Washington State, said she wished she could surprise me by walking in the door. I told her I’d probably have a heart attack if that happened. Then, within a couple of minutes, there was a knock on the door and in walked our dear friends who live like 2 hours away! Although it wasn’t my friend all the way from Washington, it was just as awesome to see this lovely couple. And it still almost gave me a heart attack (I bet my heart monitor was going crazy). The timing was absolutely perfect. She is also on this group chat and so she knew it was going to give me a heart attack and she loves me so much that she snuck up on me anyway 😊. They happened to be in the same hospital visiting another family member and took time to come a few floors up to see me. It really meant so much to me. Again, the timing was so perfect. Although not the best circumstances, it was so great to see their faces and catch up with them.
This is also the day I got to see my sweet Taryn! Jeff picked her up from school and brought her up to see me before she went to church and dance. She ate dinner with me and we played a card game before she had to leave to go to church. This was the first time since Sunday that I really felt like eating something. Hospital food has come a long way. I wouldn’t say it was great but it has certainly improved.
At 5:45, right before they were about to leave, my fever spiked again. I had gone about 5 hours without a fever. They left and I tried to rest. I turned on the tv and watched some HGTV. The shakes started and soon after I was burning up and sweat was rolling again. Another friend came around 8:00 and we visited for a couple of hours. During this time, more nurses came in asking about essential oils. The good thing is that she was prepared and actually had some samples with her. I only had business cards! By the time she left, I felt like I might be able to get some sleep. I oiled up, put Serenity in my diffuser and cut the lights. I was determined to sleep… wishful thinking.
Again, I kept some notes for Jeff so he’d know how my night went.
11:00 was oiled up and ready for bed. Heard the nurses out there so assumed they were on their way in here. It had been a while.
11:30 tired so I decided to go to sleep even though she hadn’t come back in yet.
12 nurse comes in to take vitals, running fever again.
12:30 naturally, can’t go to sleep. Shivers and shakes start. I try to fight it but I can’t. It’s also very light in here so even though I’m freezing I decide to get up and close the blinds, go potty.
1:00 I called the nurse and asked for socks a blanket and some pain medication.
1:30 she brings in the blanket and socks and tosses them on my lap. She watches me as I struggle to unravel the blanket and get it over my legs. As my IV monitor goes off 4 times because I was bending my arms, this one just stands there over me waiting for me to finish. She administers the pain medication. She also gives me Tylenol for my fever that was an hour and a half ago. This is the only time I saw the RN the entire shift.
1:31 going to try to sleep.
2:00 whelp.. that didn’t work out for me. Now I’m burning up so much I had to take my socks off and get out from covers, Drink as much ice water as I could possibly get and put the ice packs back on my head and neck.
2:15 decided to watch tv again. Court shows are funny.
3:00 I’m so hot I decide to put ice from my cup into my bag. Oops. I spilled the bag!! The plus side, it cooled me off a little bit.😂😂
4:30 tv off. Going to try and sleep
6:00 nurse came for vitals. Woke up completely soaked from head to toe.
7:00 cafeteria called to see what I wanted for breakfast. WT………. I’m up... I’m UPP!!! Thursday The doctor was in at 7:10. He said that my white blood count has greatly improved. He wants to monitor me for at least another 24 hours, so it looks like I might be able to go home tomorrow. He said if I could commit to drinking 2.5 L of water a day, I can get the IV out. Considering it’s the reason I can’t use my right arm (and texting with my left takes 17,226 times longer)... I decided to commit to any amount to get it out. He came in so early that I wasn’t prepared with any questions yet. Yesterday he didn’t come until after 1:00. Plus, he told me yesterday that I had to be fever free for 24 hours to be released and considering I had a fever again at 4:00 this morning I just assumed that set me back longer. So there I sat, in a gown that was soaked from head to toe from the fever breaking, just waiting for my husband with some soap and shampoo so I could take a shower.
Jeff arrived around 9:00 and I felt good enough to take a shower. It was a nice relief to have the heart monitor removed (and thankfully didn’t have to be put back on it) and nice to have the IV disconnected. I had lots of visitors this day (9 to be exact), starting with out dear Pastor. I literally had visitor one after another all day. From 11 am – 8 pm, I had someone in my room with me. I was just thankful that I felt good enough to have this many visitors. My Mother-in-Love brought me some flowers and my coworker brought us Poke! One of my friends that came by I hadn’t seen in like 6 months. We had a lot to catch up on. I stayed fever free for 12 hours this day! At noon, I needed my antibiotis again and so they needed to hook me back up to the IV. Unfortunately, it had stopped working and when they tried to flush it, all the fluid went running down my arm. The nurse had to start a new one. I’ve ALWAYS had good veins (people always tell me I have good ones, they don’t move, and they are plump). I don’t ever recall ever being stuck more than one time for anyone to take blood or start an IV, but this nurse stuck me 4 times to try and get a new one started. OUCH! Finally, it was in and I was so relieved to have it in a better location. Since I wasn’t able to drink the amount of water they needed me to drink, they also started the IV fluids again.
Jeff brought Taryn up again after school. He was asked to bowl this night and so I insisted he go do that. He won’t admit it to me, but I know he’s been stressed and worried about me. Again, at 5:45 my fever spiked again. So annoying! Jeff left Taryn there with me for an hour until Jayden could come. Finally, I got to see my boy! I hadn’t seen him since Sunday evening. He had a team dinner (that we were co-hosting) after practice but came up to see me after that. We played cards and talked about his senior schedule (course selection was due the following day). I can NOT believe we are already talking about senior year. He had homework and Taryn needed to get to bed and so they took off around 8:00 but only after hitting up the lounge to get some apple juice and graham crackers. Methodist hospital has the BEST apple juice. I don’t really care for apple juice but this was some GOOOD apple juice. I must have had 14-20 during my stay (you know, the tiny little cups that are like 2 oz each). I ordered apple juice for every meal and drank at least one that they brought to me. Most days I drank both of them.
I did get a bit of sleep this night! The nurses didn’t come in every few hours as they have been. I think I slept for 4 hours! The most I've had in a week!
Friday Update The nurse took my vitals at 6 am and again, I had a fever of 101. I was disappointed that I was still spiking a fever as I was ready to go home. During shift change, at 7 am, the night nurse says to my new day nurse that I’m here for Sepsis. I had to interrupt and say I thought the lab results for that was negative. The nurse explained how even though the lab results showed negative for Sepsis that I was so sick and had such a high fever that that’s what I was diagnosed with and that’s what they’re treating me for. I said that the doctor told me he was treating me for a kidney infection. They looked at each other and didn’t really know what to say. Then, they went on to say how dangerous Sepsis is and how it’s so deadly so “we’re just trying to keep you alive and keep you from losing a limb”. I was so confused. I was already told that I was NOT being treated for Sepsis but now I’m being told again that I am.
The doctor came in shortly after that conversation and I was prepared to ask him about this.
He immediately told me that I’m unable to go home as I was still running a fever. I was going about 12 hours fever free so there is definitely improvement. I asked him about Sepsis and he said “Absolutely! Yes, you have Sepsis. You are very ill”. He went on to explain how I have bacteria in my blood and that is Sepsis. He explained the very wide spectrum of Sepsis and how they need to get ahead of this before it gets worse. Again he told me if I can stay fever free (less than 100), I can go home tomorrow.
My mind went every direction. I completely lost it the second he went out the door. I ugly cried for an hour. I called Jeff bawling, then called my Mom. I was upset that I couldn’t go home, I miss my family. Upset that I felt like I got the runaround although everyone has been so nice, and I feel like I received the best treatment. I was exhausted from basically not sleeping more than an hour or two a day for more than six days (except for the night before).
My nurse came in and saw how upset I was. She sat with me and explained to me that basically anyone with an infection/bacteria in blood is diagnosed with Sepsis these days. Sepsis is a general term and diagnosis, so they don’t miss anything and so the body doesn’t go into septic shock. She said I was/am very ill but I’m not dying (hallelujah). They just needed to get ahead of it, so it doesn’t go that route (which is exactly what the doctor said). She continued to say how I am getting better each day and my labs have proven that (although they haven’t taken any blood from me since Wednesday morning).
This also explains why the doctor was so nonchalant about it this morning. To him, basically everyone in this hospital has Sepsis. Not really… but that’s the only way I can wrap my head around it.
I knew Jeff was on his way, so I figured I’d just update him when he arrived. I had calmed down by this point and was so thankful for this nurse. I had good nurses all week, but there was something different about this one. She took time to explain and she truly cared. She popped in on me throughout the day just to see how I was doing. The other nurses did NOT do this.
My friend text me on her way to visit and asked me if I wanted something from Starbucks. Thank you Lord for good friends! Yes please! She arrived just in time for the next round of drama. We visited for a long time. I hadn’t seen her in months and we also had a lot to catch up on.
I knew Jeff had arrived at the hospital, but he never came into the room. I text him and he said he was talking to the charge nurse… Ut-ohhhh. He was out there with them for at least 45 minutes before coming into the room. I guess I should have called him and filled him in on what my sweet nurse explained to me. He came in and said “oh, I talked to your charge nurse and she said you don’t have Sepsis”. I looked at him and said "I am done talking about Sepsis. I don’t even care anymore if I have it or not!!" He went on to explain how the charge nurse (probably the same one that told me earlier in the week), looked at all my charts and labs and can confidently say that I do not have Sepsis. Jeff said to her “I want to talk to the doctor”, so she called the doctor. Jeff talked to the doctor and the doctor tells him that I DO have Sepsis. SERIOUSLY people, get it together. Can two people just please get on the same page? The doctor also explained to him (just like my sweet RN explained to me) that there is a wide range of Sepsis and although I’m not at the dangerous side of it, meaning I’m not in septic shock, it’s certainly something to get ahead of to ensure it doesn’t worsen. The fever spikes alone were something to be concerned about but adding in the massive headache, kidney pain, etc. I can understand why the doctor wanted to keep an eye on me.
Later in the day, another friend stopped by that I hadn’t seen in months and we were able to catch up. Jayden had another basketball game tonight so Jeff went to that. I missed a great game. Not only did he get to play a lot, he had a 3-pointer. This may not seem like a big deal to you but this coach doesn't let him dribble or shoot so the fact that he took the shot was big and to see that he made it was huge! I'm so proud of him. Once the game finished, I knew Jeff and Taryn would come see me. To my surprise, in walked Jayden too! Jeff talked to the coach before the game and asked if he’d make an exception and allow Jayden to leave after the game. Not only did he make an exception but he (the coach), also prayed for me with the team before the game during their prayer time. I think he's a good guy. I'll keep my opinion to myself on the kind of coach I think he is. We all played cards and of course they made a trip down the hall to get some apple juice! They stayed until 9:30 or so and I was feeling really tired. At this point I was running 99.9, but thankfully that isn’t considered a fever, so I was still in the clear for getting to go home the next day. My peppermint essential oil brought that right down and so I was able to get some rest. I closed the blinds, oiled up, took my serenity and copaiba soft gels (that Jeff remembered to bring me), filled up my diffuser and hit the lights. I was able to sleep a good 5-6 hours this night. The nurses only came in a little before midnight and again at 6 am for my vitals.
Saturday I’m going home today regardless if they release me or not. I have a get-a-way car planned and my bff said she’d she’d help me escape.
Being that it’s Saturday, the doctor didn’t come until after 9:00. He was happy that I hadn’t ran a fever and that I was feeling better. He said I can go home!!!!!!!!!! He also apologized for all the confusion around Sepsis. I called Jeff and he and Taryn headed to the hospital. They were about to leave to head that way anyway, but this put a little extra pep in their step. My nurse came in to remove my IV (same sweet RN that I had yesterday) and we talked for a while about some things we have in common. I told her how awesome she was and that she was the only RN I had during those 5 days that went above and beyond treating everyone equal. One day earlier in the week I’d asked my RN for another pillow. She said “oh, I don’t do that, I’ll call the PCA to get you one”. I really hated to bother them with this anyway, but I’d already asked so not much I could do now. The PCA cheerfully comes in, opens the cabinet by the TV and pulls out a pillow. If you can just imagine the look on my face. First of all, had I of know the pillow was right there I would have grabbed it myself. Second, why did the RN have to call the PCA when she could have taken 4 steps and opened the cabinet herself?! Instead she said “I don’t do that…” I shared this with my sweet RN and she just couldn’t believe that the things she did were above and beyond, so I went ahead and shared the blanket story with her. At this time, my current PCA came into the room again and agreed that she is the only RN that treats the PCAs with respect and doesn’t talk down to them. Just that morning, after I had finished breakfast this same PCA was taking my vitals and my RN said to me “oh I’ll take your tray if you are finished”. I agreed that I was finished. The PCA said “oh no, I got it”. The RN said “no girl, I’ll take it, you are busy!” The PCA was so grateful and explained to her that other RNs do not do that. She told her that she is the only one that does work that is not her job. Miss Laura was an exceptional RN!
I packed up the few remaining items I had there. Jeff and the kids took most of it home the night before because I wasn’t going to be able to escape with 6 bags if the doctor had told me I needed to stay another day. By 11:30 am I was H-O-M-E!
What a week! I’m still recovering and taking it easy. Jeff is not letting me do a thing around here. I did manager to go to the office today for a few hours but that was all I could handle. By 10:30 I felt exhausted and came home.
From all the conversations with the nurses and doctors at the hospital we know now that it was probably a kidney infection all along and I should’ve been taking a different antibiotic from the start. When I went to the ER the first time, I likely was already showing signs of Sepsis but they never would have known because they didn’t do any lab work. In the hospital, they said, without saying, that they should’ve done more tests in the ER that first time.Thankfully, I am OK, I will make a full recovery and that is all that matters.
Somewhere through all of this I looked at Jeff and reminded him that we dropped our health insurance coverage this year. Not really the coverage actually, only the amount we pay monthly and the deductible. We were paying a ridiculous amount each month to have the insurance but none of us have been sick or gone to the doctor (besides thyroid check ups or something urgent like a concussion) in years and so we thought there no need to pay so much each month. We had a $3,500.00 deductible for our coverage and now we pay a little each month but have a $15,000.00 deductible. Of all years to try and save some money out of pocket. Oops! Praying the hospital fairies will be generous to us.
I really do take many positive things away from this experience. I’ve been able to learn more about Sepsis, the kidneys, the urinary tract and the bladder... Information I wouldn’t know if this hadn’t of happened to me. I wouldn’t say I’m grateful for this experience, but it’s been a test of my strength (I’m a total wuss you know) and has encouraged me to dig deeper into my health journey.
I’ll follow up with a Chinese Medicine Doctor this week as well as my primary care physician. For now, I’m so happy to have slept in my own bed and showered in my big beautiful shower that has amazing water pressure and hot water. I’m talking the antibiotics as also supporting myself with many different essential oils. I’m taking Melissa and Tangerine every 2 hours internally and applying many others topically. I will completely heal from this!
Thank you for reading my journey!
