The word SEPSIS was just another medical term I heard from a nurse friend.  She said that it’s VERY DANGEROUS AND CAN BE VERY FATAL.  It was just another term, we heard from other people telling their tales of a friend, a relative etc etc… but not until recently.  One December weekend, the weekend before the term 1 final exam, before the term break, before the Christmas parties, I received an email from my sister saying Mom is in the hospital, blood pressure was very low. A day after, yet another email, Mom vomitted blood.  A day after, Mom is now in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), creatinine is very high.  A day after, Mom is in septic shock.  Mama hung on for another 2 days, and let go 3 hours after my daughter and I arrived at the hospital.  Goodness.  With a blink of an eye, mama was gone.  That fast!  Until now, there are moments when I found myself in disbelief.

So, what in the world is SEPSIS?

Sepsis is a very serious medical condition where the body reacts severely to bacterial, fungal, or viral infection.  This infection may start in the bloodstream, bone, kidney, lining of the brains, gall bladder, skin, lungs, or liver. Sepsis does not arise on its own. It stems from other medical condition such urinary tract infection, bacterial pnuemonia, appendicitis and invasive medical procedures, insertion of catheter, surgery, and bedsores.

Fast breathing and change in mental status that ranges from mild to severe can be the earliest signs of sepsis.  This is due to a very low blood pressure, which results from series of reactions the moment the infection sets in.  With this, the body is deprived of oxygen and nutrients, resulting in failure of major organs like the brain, lungs, kidney, and liver. Other general symptoms are chills, hypothermia or fever, delirium and light-headedness.

This illness is really scary.  It would help so much to be vigilant with our health and most especially vigilant with hospital practices.  It is difficult to prove, but I have this gut feeling that a lot of our medical practitioners are not following strict protocols.  My mother got sepsis barely a month after she had RASPA.  I also found out that she had untreated UTI.  This has really bothered me up until now.  Did the hospital know about my Mom’s UTI? If so, shouldn’t they treat it first before doing any medical procedure? One internet source said UTI should be treated first.  If not, isn’t urinalysis one of the tests they should run before clearing any patient for medical procedure? My sisters and I are planning of taking hold of my Mom’s medical records.  I hope it will answer my questions.  I pray that the hospital did not make any mistake!

I would appreciate any ideas you have with regard to the questions I have above.