Sepsis - I need some positive stories, please please please

[changingstages]

My lovely sister-in-law is very seriously ill. She had bad pain yesterday, ended up in hospital, was moved to HDU and then today moved to intensive care. They suspected sepsis. Turns out she has a kidney stone causing a blockage, leading to infection and sepsis. She's in theatre now getting a stent to relieve the blockage.

I'm so worried about her, and my poor brother. Please, if you've got good stories about recovering from sepsis, can you share them? I am hundreds of miles away and wish I could be there to give my brother a big hug.

ICU nurse here - if they’ve put a stent in then that’s great as they’re treating the source of the infection. She may get a little bit worse before she gets better - a ‘septic shower’ can occur when the infection has a chance to get flushed out if the body, things get a bit rough on its way out but if she’s in ICU then she’s in exactly the right place where she will be closely monitored.

The only times I’ve seen people not recover well from sepsis is if they’re not in great shape pre-hospital (sounds like your sil is normally for and active), if they haven’t been able to find the source of the infection for a while (not the case here), or if more than one organ is involved (sounds like single organ involved in this case).
She should hopefully start to feel better soon, best wishes OP xx

My ds had sepsis when a day old in the nicu after being born 33 weeks he made a full recovery weirdly like @fairyannie granddaughter we where not told of the sepsis until discharge I don’t know if they just had too much else going on like bleed on brain and on a ventilator to tell us

I had sepsis after major surgery once, that wasn't picked up until after I was discharged and became very ill at home. I had to take some pretty heavy duty antibiotics, but I was OK and recovered fairly swiftly.

@AllyBama

ICU nurse here - if they’ve put a stent in then that’s great as they’re treating the source of the infection. She may get a little bit worse before she gets better - a ‘septic shower’ can occur when the infection has a chance to get flushed out if the body, things get a bit rough on its way out but if she’s in ICU then she’s in exactly the right place where she will be closely monitored.

The only times I’ve seen people not recover well from sepsis is if they’re not in great shape pre-hospital (sounds like your sil is normally for and active), if they haven’t been able to find the source of the infection for a while (not the case here), or if more than one organ is involved (sounds like single organ involved in this case).
She should hopefully start to feel better soon, best wishes OP xx

Thank you, that's very reassuring.

I'm so sorry for all of you having gone through so much - especially with babies. My DD was very ill after birth and in ICU for quite a while and it is the scariest thing.

Just waiting to hear from my brother how she is this morning. She's such a great person, I can't tell you - a brilliant SIL and a really really good person.

How is she doing? How are you all? Xxx

One of my friends had sepsis from an infected bite on their leg. They were travelling in Africa at the time and the doctors initially were worried they had Ebola due to very high fever. Nope, just sepsis. Antibiotics work miracles and that’s why it’s so important for us to respect them and ensure they are used correctly.

@Ohhok

One of my friends had sepsis from an infected bite on their leg. They were travelling in Africa at the time and the doctors initially were worried they had Ebola due to very high fever. Nope, just sepsis. Antibiotics work miracles and that’s why it’s so important for us to respect them and ensure they are used correctly.

'Just' sepsis?

My dad at 62 contracted sepsis, major infection in his leg, it was covered in huge blood like blistered which slowly turned black. 24 hours later in critical care ICU on a respirator in a coma and going into renal failure, I had to sign for his leg to be amputated. He was too sick to move the bed to theatre. Onto continuous renal replacement therapy.

Survived after 18 days in a coma and downgraded to normal ICU. Woke up with post ICU syndrome - thought he was in Vietnam in the war (found out later he had been reading a book about the war before getting sick). Delirium took 6 days to stop. ICU to ward after a month. Another month in the ward then to repat care for 6 weeks.

After about 4 months finally back home with his leg. A year to regain his strength - 5 PT sessions a week. Long term on daily antibiotics for life.

4 years later you would never know how sick he was. His specialists have present his case as they all can't believe he is alive and thriving.

@cultkid

How is she doing? How are you all? Xxx

She is still porky but improving - moved from ICU to HDU yesterday, which has cheered us all up! Her blood pressure was very low but that's now improved too. Think she is definitely heading in the right direction.

I'm so grateful to everyone for sharing your stories, it has really, really helped.

Hopefully it’s been caught quickly enough. My brother had exactly the same. I won’t deny , he was seriously ill and lost one kidney . He spent several weeks in icu and Hdw and then normal ward and then fully recovered . He was late 40s at the time . 6 years later he leads a full life. Hope your sister in law will be ok

My brother hit his leg at work one day. Within 24 hours he was in ICU with sepsis, out of it, and on many machines.

They worried as he was on these 10 days.

He came around in a bad way for about 3 days, then had to have an operation so moved hospitals. After the operation he was waiting to go back to hospital 1 and the car arrived and took him home!! This was at the start of Covid and we think they were clearing hospitals out.

So he had to hobble to his house. It was crazy, he still wasn't with it and we didn't know until he was home and could find energy to text.

In the past year he has had to work very little which has helped his recovery in my view. He seems to me to be better than he was before the accident.

Its a long slog but be positive until there's no reason to be.

My brother got sepsis in his mid-20s following pneumonia. Parts of him turned black it was incredibly scary, but luckily he made a full recovery.

for you and your SIL.

That is so good to hear

What a worrying time for her

Blood pressure being low is so normal after being laid down and dehydrated for days and days

You are lovely to care xxx

Three times for my Dad.
I think the key is having a medical team who are clued up to check for sepsis and identify thrvbug.

Glad to hear your SIL is getting better. I know four people who've had it, three of whom who made full recoveries - one had to have a partial heart transplant, one was an alcoholic who'd been in and out of hospital already, and one was unconscious in her room for two days before getting treatment because her housemates thought she'd gone away for the weekend All of them were absolutely fine, and although the recovery took some time, if you met them now you wouldn't even know they'd been ill. The only person I know who sadly didn't survive had a chromosomal disorder that meant she was already very ill and wasn't expected to live past her 20s in any case.