Kathleen

I am Kathleen. A 38-year-old woman, primary school teacher and mother of two young children.

On 27 February, I don't feel very well in the morning. Fatigue, muscle and joint pains and general malaise play tricks on me. Later that day, I gradually develop a fever. By evening, I start shivering heavily. I pick up the children from school and day-care and ask my husband to be home on time. Meanwhile, I feel very sick. With antipyretic medication, I get the pain and fever somewhat under control. I inform my sister because I don't trust it. She is a nurse and often assists me with advice. The night is difficult. 

The next day I barely get through. My lower abdomen starts hurting more and more. The fever also no longer subsides with antipyretic medication and rises smoothly to 40 °C. I also cannot stop shivering and shaking violently. I call my sister because I can no longer stand on my feet. My husband takes care of our children and my sister drives me to the hospital. The pain in my lower abdomen evolves at lightning speed; I can no longer bear it. I can no longer urinate. Standing on my legs no longer works either. My lips and skin turn grey, my nails turn blue. Purple spots appear on my skin.

In the emergency department, blood is drawn immediately. While waiting for the blood results, I am given another scan. The pain is intolerable.
The blood results are alarming. There is MOF, multi-organ failure due to circulatory failure (blood circulation) and a sky-high CRP, the infection level. I am in septic shock at the time. A severe septic shock it turns out afterwards. A broad-spectrum antibiotic is immediately started and I am given strong pain medication. The 24 hours that follow are very hazy for me. By ambulance and MUG, I am rushed to another hospital. (Condition critical I read afterwards in the report). I can still remember many doctors and nurses standing around the bed and catheters being placed in various places. Two of those catheters were sewn into the skin. This was not very pleasant. But you undergo, you can't do otherwise. For a while, sedation and intubation were considered so that my body could put maximum effort into fighting this terrible disease. Meanwhile, it was midnight. It was twilight in my head. I am having frequent hallucinations and I am terribly tired. Fortunately, my body is responding relatively well to the supportive treatment. I unfortunately still stay in intensive care for 3 weeks. I contract another severe double pneumonia during my stay in intensive care. I really suffered and fought. The uncertainty was great. What animal could have made me -an active, young woman- so ill? There have been many tests (not all of which were pleasant) but each time without result. It has been hard physically but also mentally. The uncertainty was debilitating. Fortunately, I was surrounded enormously well. My husband, my sister and the close network that formed in a short time helped me through the difficult period. We really did it together. 

After the intensive care stay, I am moved to a regular ward after which I am transferred to a university hospital because by now my body is no longer responding well to the antibiotics that have been administered for 5 weeks. It is a cocktail of different antibiotics whose composition changed frequently and for which I paid the price for some time after my hospitalisation.

At the end of my hospitalisation, I have six weeks on the clock, 5.5 weeks of which have had solid fever spikes to 40.5 degrees.

Until today (June), the cause of the septic shock has not been found. However, a relatively large, benign tumour was found at the place in my lower abdomen where I was in terrible pain. It cannot be proven that the septic shock and the tumour are related, but the GP practice where I am a patient considers this a real possibility. Follow-up and surgery are necessary.

I am immensely grateful to the hospital emergency doctor for acting so quickly and correctly. EVERY minute counts. It could have been so much worse. In intensive care, I was treated very well both physically and mentally. So I am incredibly grateful to the doctors and nurses at the hospital. They supported me so well. The doctors took the time to give a clear answer to every question. They encouraged me when yet another unpleasant examination was scheduled. The nurses are versatile professionals.

I went to the intensive care unit with my sister afterwards to close the chapter. We were warmly received and again -despite the crowds- time was made for a good conversation together with doctors and nurses. It is very valuable for the (former) patient that today's medicine focuses not only on physical healing, but also on mental well-being. Hopefully, other patients may also experience their stay as positive, no matter how terrible it often is. 

Today, I am still recovering. (3.5 months post-sepsis, 2 months post-hopsitalisation) I am easily tired, suffer from muscle weakness and the cognitive aspect also still has to recover. Concentration, multitasking, memory... All things that are much harder since my hospitalisation. But things are a bit better every week and I am confident that I will be fine again. I won't be my old self again, but the bar can be lower. Above all, I'm glad I'm still here, with all my fingers and toes. And that I can fully experience the natural moments with my children again. But then much more intensely. 🙂