I am Carine (born 1961) and work as an application specialist at a diagnostics company (paramedical). In my spare time, I relax with: my 3 treasures of granddaughters, hiking and cycling. In2015 ago, I ended up in septic shock with ARDS after a surgical procedure to remove a kidney stone.
The day after surgery, I developed a fever and blood cultures were started and antibiotics were pushed up. 2 days after the operation, I started having trouble breathing and my condition deteriorated very quickly. When my saturation (oxygen level in the blood) was checked, it was found to be very low and it was decided that I should be admitted to Intensive Care. I spent 4 weeks in the ICU, including 3 weeks on life support. The consequences of this 4-week ICU admission were loss of voice due to the long intubation, muscle loss and cognitive problems. Good information on the recovery process was hard to find and my initial optimistic expectations were quickly adjusted by personal accounts of the long recovery of ex-sepsis patients. In many of the stories described, recovery took a long time and residual complaints of fatigue and cognitive problems remained, to name the most important ones. For myself, I had prepared a roadmap and with the help of the kiné team at the hospital, my family and friends, I managed to resume work 3 months after discharge from Intensive Care. In our spare time, we like to go hiking, and preferably uphill. It was therefore very important for me not to give up this passion. After a difficult start, the walks became longer. Of course, I was exhausted after a working day or a walk in the evening and this is still the case sometimes now. After 2.5 years, my recovery was sufficient to take another walking holiday in Corsica.
THE time to accept the few minor residual symptoms and conclude the recovery period. I am among the lucky ones to have recovered almost completely and to have understanding people around me who motivated me and put on the brakes when needed.... Patients who are less fortunate are still too often left to their own devices. It is my motivation to get involved in the sepsis patient group Sepsibel, to make sepsis and its consequences better known in the medical world and to the general public. In particular, my interest is in providing recognition to patients who have also been affected by sepsis.
Carine
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