Sepsis

Help & Support:

http://www.healthline.com/health/sepsis

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/mobileart.asp?articlekey=97492

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An Interview With Lettie:

What is your name and age?
Lettie and I'm 22

When did you first become pregnant?
I first fell pregnant at 17

Were there any complications throughout the pregnancy?
I was crushed by a horse and that's how I found out I was pregnant.
I went into pre term labour at 29 and 31 weeks but they stopped it.
I had group b strep and developed late sudden on set pre eclampsia at 39 weeks.

How long were you in labour for?
I had a 4 day induction followed by 17 hours of contractions.

Why did you need an emergency caesarean?
I was hyper stimulating which is where I had a natural contraction and then an induced contraction.
They were 20 seconds apart.
My son Zachary became distressed and they needed to get him out straight away.
Once they delivered it turned out the cord was twice around his neck so tightly he couldn't get his head down and make me dilate.

What weight was your baby?
He was 7lb 9oz, one day late.

When did you become ill?
Around 3 days after birth I got a fever.

What were you diagnosed with?
After several tests, scans and blood tests I was diagnosed with sepsis.
A life threatening blood infection.

How was this treated?
I was given tons of IV antibiotics and went home on oral antibiotics.

When did you fall pregnant for the second time?
I fell pregnant for the second time aged 18 in June 2012.

Were there any complications throughout the pregnancy?
My son Henry did not move much but apart from that everything seemed fine.

How long were you in labour for?
My waters broke 15 days early and Henry was born 26 hours later.

You had another emergency caesarean, why was that?
My waters broke naturally and meconium was being passed.
It got thicker and greater in volume.
I was placed on the monitor and his heart rate went flat and they rushed us into theatre.

Your second child had inhaled meconium which is "unborn baby poo" what was the result of this?
He was born grey and floppy and needed resuscitation.
The doctors ran into theatre and I watched them place a tube down his throat.
He is now delayed but thriving otherwise.

What weight was your second child?
He was 5lb 3oz.
Scans had failed to pick up the fact my placenta was failing and he did not grow properly.

You became ill for a second time, what was the diagnosis?
I once again had sepsis.
This time I also developed septic shock.

How was this treated?
Blood transfusions, CT scans and the combination of the right antibiotics.
I also had two returns to theatre.

What happened to you after surgery?
After the first surgery I was just not getting better.
I had a large open wound that specialists where treating and I had to undergo more tests.
The tests showed I had internal bleeding.

You had more surgery, why was that?
I had a large collection of internal bleeding and they had to drain it to make me better.

You were diagnosed with Sepsis, what symptoms did you have?
I started with a high fever 39.3-39.4 degrees.
This then progressed to Riggors ( excessive shaking) my heart was racing up to 145 beats per minutes.
My lungs had began to fail so I needed constant oxygen.
I became delirious and very sleepy.

Have you had any health complications since the diagnosis?
I am now left with a compromised immune system and a damaged right kidney.
I also suffer mental health issues due to the severe trauma.

Since then you went on to have a third child and this time you weren't ill.
What was different with the third pregnancy unlike the first and second?
My third pregnancy was a breeze.
All that's different was she was a girl!
I was very closely monitored and had antibiotics before I delivered her.

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Sepsis:
http://sepsistrust.org/