Firstly, I want to thank the doctors and nurses and to highlight that my encounter with sepsis “was a medical mystery” like many others who have suffered sepsis, it can be an elusive disease with devastating consequences.
My story:
- I had seen multiple GP’s about a random rash on my face and a doctor about a common cold days before
- At dinner, it felt like I had bitten my tongue and then it swelled on one side, making it harder to breathe and difficult to swallow
- We rushed to hospital, where I was treated for anaphylaxis, but my condition worsened, my breathing worsened and a mottled blue, red rash spread across the top half of my body
- I was comatose for 9 days with up to 100 people working on me and my mystery condition – which ended up being Ludwig’s angina (from an unknown impacted wisdom tooth) leading to sepsis
- The rash burnt the top half of my body, my tongue blackened from lack of circulation and there were talks of amputation
- The incredible team were able to remove the wisdom tooth, pump me with 4 x IV antibiotics and then inserted 16 Yeates drains into my neck to relieve the pressure as the swelling started to crush my jugular vein
- I woke up incredibly grateful to be alive and determined to make a difference.
To learn more about Caitlin’s incredible story see: Caitlin’s Sepsis Story – wearing her scars with pride