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“Tarryn Bunworth, is determined to make sure people know about the life-threatening yet “forgotten about” condition, sepsis.”
After her Mother, Tracey, tragically died from sepsis in July, Tarryn is raising awareness and funds to help prevent sepsis.
Read more about Tracey and Tarryn here
Four years ago, Mick O’Dowd thought he would never be able to do much again. In the aftermath of a devastating illness (sepsis) he could only hope to have the kind of freedom most people take for granted.
It was 2018 and the whole family was there for a hectic, noisy, happy Christmas Day. While he was manning the barbecue, Mick began to feel “really hot and uncomfortable”. As the afternoon wore on things became worse and worse. By that night, Mick was leaning against a brick wall at Canterbury Hospital emergency, “just trying to breathe through the pain”, while he waited to see a doctor. He was diagnosed with sciatica and sent home at 7:00am on Boxing Day. But a deadly infection was racing through his body. Back at hospital later that day, things got very serious, very fast. Mick’s blood pressure was low, his heart rate was high, his breathing shallow. He felt as if he was dying, and he was right. On life support he had a 20 per cent chance of making it to the morning.
Read more about Mick and his family’s incredible strength in prevailing over sepsis Mick’s story 4 years on
Watch Australian Story “A matter of minutes” on ABC iView A matter of minutes
It was Friday 26th August 2022. A day I remember as it was my mum’s birthday but also the day that things in my life took a turn. I started my day with my usual ‘Tone’ class at the gym. I was 43, healthy and fit. As I was in the shower getting ready for my day I got a sudden, stabbing pain in my back on the left hand side which intensified to the point that I fell to the shower floor in agony. I slowly crawled my way out of the shower along my bedroom floor hoping it would go away but it didn’t. I started screaming for my husband who was downstairs in the kitchen. My screams didn’t get his attention so I started thumping on the walls yelling out his name so he could come help me. Eventually he came and saw me in disbelief. I immediately said to him that we needed to go to the hospital. Thankfully we only live around the corner from a major hospital.
I don’t remember too much of the next two days as my body must have been in extreme pain and the trauma of the event effected my memory. I have however managed to pull together most of it from questioning my family. As I arrived at the ED entrance I could barely walk in. I was triaged by the nurse and at some point taken to a bed. I recall rolling around in the bed in agony watching the nurses flinch every time I screamed as they prepared the morphine. We spent several hours at the hospital. I was administered several dosages of morphine throughout my time there and given anti-nausea tablets as I vomited several times. I had a CT scan which showed I had a 4mm kidney stone. Later that evening I was discharged with pain and anti-nausea medication. We were told due to the size of the stone it should pass on its own. What we didn’t know was that was never going to occur and that evening was the beginning of almost the end for me.
I started to deteriorate quickly throughout the night and the following day. What we didn’t know was that I had sepsis already and my body was going into Septic Shock. The stone had blocked my ureter which meant my kidney wasn’t passing urine and was quickly getting infected. My husband continued to medicate me however the pain relief was not working. I started to vomit and did move out of bed. My daughter recalls walking in on me shivering and my teeth chattering as they tried to comfort me with heat bags and her Oodie. My husband called ED and was transferred to a health line who provided general advice on kidney stones.
Later that evening he took me back to hospital. I was in a critical state. I remember turning up to ED and vomiting profusely outside their entry doors. I was sat in a wheelchair and was quickly seen by a triage nurse. I recall placing my head on his desk moaning in pain. My blood pressure was incredibly low and my heart rate was incredibly high. Much of what happened afterwards was a blur. I remember lying in bed and a team of doctors standing at the edge of my bed. One doctor introduced himself to me and told me he had been called in to conduct a emergency operation on me. I would be required to stay in ICU for a few days then the ward for another few. I was taken into another room where I was prepared for surgery and told to say goodbye to my husband. I have never been so scared and physically ill in my life. I could hear the operating theatre being prepared and felt like I couldn’t breathe. My heart was racing to the point I thought I was going to have a heart attack. The anaesthetist kept monitoring my blood pressure as it was getting lower and lower the longer we waited. I remember being hurried into the operating theatre. It felt so, so cold. I was terrified. I fought the oxygen mask as I was terrified of what was about to happen and then moved onto the operating bed.
I was told that when they went into my kidney it was infected and full of puss, a lot worse than they had imagined. A 24cm ureter stent was inserted but the stone was left in. When I questioned doctors about this later they advised if they had removed the stone they would have killed me on the operating table. My surgeon said to me that he has never seen a case like mine. My body was like an atomic bomb that just went off and I got sick very, very quick. The words “very, very sick’ were used by every doctor and every nurse that looked after me during my two week stay in hospital.
I spent 7 days in ICU fighting my for life. I was intubated and was sedated following the surgery as I suffered multi organ failure and ICU spent the following day resuscitating my organs. Once awake I recall feeling extremely scared, lost, confused and a complete loss of dignity. I recall having difficulty breathing as my lungs had coped a beating and had fluid. ICU was terrible. As I started to improve I was moved onto a ward where I was faced with some of the biggest challenges of them all. I remember my beautiful nurse Michelle peeling back the curtains the first morning on the ward telling me she was going to make me feel nice by getting me out of bed and giving me my first shower. Little did I know this was going to be one of the hardest things I would do in my life. I remember placing my two feet on the ground and having no sense of balance or strength. I could barely lift my head. I was hunched over in a little ball as I had lost all muscle control. I was wheeled into the shower where I started crying and as I held onto the rail thinking how the hell was I ever going to get over this. Each day afterwards we would set a new goal. I would need to learn to shower on my own, feed myself and spend time in the chair to gain my strength. Showering itself would take a huge physical toll and I would have to sleep afterwards.
I was discharged in a very weak state. I was actually horrified that I was allowed to go home. I didn’t want to go home although I had 3 beautiful daughters. I didn’t want to face my home as it brought back memories. I remember my husband picking me up early Wednesday morning and being wheelchaired down to the hospitals front entrance. Everything seemed so strange like I didn’t belong. I had to spend the next 2 weeks at my parents house where they looked after me as it was too much for my husband with the kids and our house had a lot of stairs which were too difficult for me to use. I eventually went home on Thursday 22nd September, 4 weeks since I arrived at ED. I felt strange in my own house. I couldn’t and still don’t sleep on my side of the bed or shower with the door closed!
Although I was finally home it wasn’t the end for me. I still needed to have the stone and stent removed. I was anxious and scared and cranky that I had to have another operation after all I had been through. On the Tuesday 27 September I went in for another procedure. I was terrified and felt like I was going to vomit, being in a hospital again was too soon since the sepsis ordeal!
It’s been 7 weeks since I was discharged from hospital for Septic Shock and looking back now I have improved tremendously. I’ve started seeing a psychologist to help deal with the trauma which has been great and I have started walking and slowly getting out. I do get frustrated as I’m not at the same level as I was before but hope over time this will improve. I have noticed my ability to focus and concentrate is much harder, my short-term memory is not as good and I get breathlessness over simple tasks however I am trying to remain positive and hope that I can get to where I was before. I still have a long road to recovery but I know one thing for sure. I’m appreciative of my family and friends who showed me constant love and support. I am forever grateful to my husband who not only had to endure the trauma of seeing me so sick but for never leaving my side. I don’t feel the same and hope I never do as I have a new profound appreciation for life. I listen to the birds, I literally stop to smell the flowers and love the warmth of the sun on my skin as I recall desperately wanting this whilst in hospital. I joined the sepsis network as I was desperately searching for answers. What I learnt is that sepsis can touch anyone in so many different ways. I received some great advice from sepsis survivors which didn’t make me feel so alone. If there is anything that I want more is that hospitals and their staff and the community are more educated on sepsis. Sepsis screening should be compulsory and form part of every hospital process.
Sam’s father used to kick the football with him in the backyard and ferry him and his younger sister, Eloise, to their swimming lessons. They went on camping trips together and spent afternoons playing at the park.
But five years ago, their lives dramatically changed. Their father, Neal Furze, fell ill on grand final day, while watching Richmond beat Adelaide, with what was later diagnosed as sepsis. His legs and all of his fingers were amputated. It saved his life.
Read more about Neal and his family’s story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
I would like to share my sepsis story.
Wednesday 22nd September 2021 4am. I was feeling general malaise the Tuesday but nothing I could put a finger on, I had been to the GP as I had knee surgery and felt I had tweaked something, but didn’t feel the need to mention anything else. When I got home I went to bed to rest. I ended up sleeping through until my husband came in at 4am saying “we got the call, and we have to.”.The call we had been waiting for was for my husband to have a lung transplant and his time was now!
We made the 40 minute trip to The Prince Charles hospital, upon arrival there was a steady regime of things happening to prepare him for surgery. Clearly this took my mind off anything I was experiencing at the time. Around 1015 we went to the preop holding bay with the transplant nurse and social worker to meet with the vast team of Drs and Nurses who would be operating on him. I kissed him goodbye and said “you got this”.
I was emotional and feeling a bit shaky and not “quite right”. The nurse and social worker were concerned and said “let’s get a drink and something to eat” before I headed home to await the outcome of the 5 hour surgery. I said “I will be okay, I just need to go home and rest”. I had a drink and they came back to check on me. They decided that I needed to see someone before I left. So they took me around to the Emergency Department.
After a short wait I was in seeing the nurse and taking a brief history. My observations were classic suspicion of sepsis low blood pressure 70/50, hot and cold, malaise, just not feeling “with it”.
I was quickly put into a resus bay where they were pushing fluids into me to get my blood pressure up. All the time thinking “this all seems a bit dramatic”. I just wanted to know how my husband was getting on. I stayed in Emergency for a number of hours to stabilise me, and really the rest is a bit of a blur. I was told that I also needed to be admitted to be treated for sepsis.
Around 6pm I was admitted to St Vincent’s private on the same campus as The Prince Charles. I was seen by a specialist briefed about my case. He took one look and said get the emergency team from ICU. Next minute I am in ICU with all kinds a hurry, getting arterial lines and picc lines into me. I kept asking the outcome of my husband, but couldn’t get any answer. The next day I awoke in ICU, where I stayed for 4 days being treated for urosepsis, blood sepsis as I was in septic shock.
How did my sepsis originate?
2 weeks prior I had gone to emergency in the middle of the night with excruciating flank pain on my right side. I drove myself as my husband was not well enough to take me. It was discovered I had a kidney stone blocking off my urethra. I would need to go to surgery to have a stent put into my kidney and bladder. This was to remain in place for 2 weeks. I was booked for surgery the 23rd to have it removed, which I was happy about as it felt uncomfortable and irritating the time it was in. So my sepsis originated in my bladder and kidney, with a bacterial and fungal infection. If I had gone to have it removed that Thursday, my outcome may have been very different, as removing the stent could have caused a “septic shower”.
After 2 weeks of iv abs, I went to theatre and had the stent taken out. I stayed in hospital with issues with my kidney and infection for weeks. As it turned out, my husband “one upped me” he got out of hospital before I did and is doing remarkably well after a transplant. We are both home now and taking it slowly but surely. We got this!
We will never forget the generous donation of a lung for my husband and the excellent skills of the team that treated me for the septic shock. We are forever grateful that on Wednesday 22nd September 2021, we both got a second chance.
Sarah shares Kathryne’s story and her devastating loss in the hope it will raise awareness of sepsis and help other families facing this terrible burden.
On March 7, 2020 my mum Kathryne, called me saying she felt strange, she sounded confused and disoriented on the phone, she suspected she was having a heart attack, but she wasn’t sure, the days leading up to this she was very tired, and had flu symptoms. She had some sores on her arms which I think might have been the cause of infection leading to sepsis, we did not think to connect that to how she was feeling…….I had never heard of sepsis.
Her doctor never gave her antibiotics for the sores, which my sister believes might have helped the situation. I was at work in Sydney on a night shift & called an ambulance for my Mum, who lived in Newcastle, where my sister also lives. At first she went to a small local hospital, my sister rushing to be with her. I last spoke to my Mum about 6pm, she said she was okay and the doctors were giving her antibiotics. By 8pm, my sister rang me hysterically, saying Mum was put into an induced coma and had been rushed to John Hunter Intensive Care.
I left work in Sydney, to travel the 3 hour drive to be there. Her major organs started failing and I know the doctors tried so very hard to save her, but sepsis was too powerful. My mother was also a breast cancer survivor so the doctors explained part of that meant her body had a weakened immune system which made it harder for her body to fight the sepsis.
It is all a bit of a blur, but by around 4am, the doctors explained that they couldn’t do anything more for her, and that the only thing keeping her alive was the life support, her organs were shut down or shutting down. We were suggested to say goodbye, the doctors saying she would know we were there, for those few moments, when they took her out of the induced coma, to then pass away. It was the hardest, most shocking night of my life.
At 36 weeks pregnant, I needed my Mum then more than ever before. I still miss her everyday but I know she would want me to lead a happy, healthy life. It’s just been very hard to adapt to life without her. She left behind 6 grandchildren, (my siblings’ children) and my then unborn daughter, now 17 months old, named after my mum, Amelia Kathryne. She was a devoted grandmother, even packing my hospital bag to take for when I had my daughter, just two weeks before sepsis took her from us. She will always live on in our hearts and memories.
Caitlin Alsop (aka @comatoconfidence) is a sepsis survivor from Australia.
“I was a healthy 23 year old and then sepsis left me fighting for my life, ventilated and comatose. You never know how strong you really are, until you’re faced with life or death. Sepsis left me with scars of courage and ironically in nearly losing my tongue and my life; I gained a whole new voice and purpose. I am so grateful to the doctors and nurses for my life and it has become my mission to raise awareness about sepsis and make a difference. This is my story of sepsis and my second chance at life.”
For more information see: https://www.comatoconfidence.com/
My story from sepsis survivor to sepsis advocate…I woke up feeling very unwell and when I got out of bed and put my left leg to the floor I nearly fell over. The pain was excruciating and I could hardly make it to the bathroom. I had a shower thinking that would help but just standing up made the pain in my back and left leg unbearable. I decided to spend the day in bed hoping it was just one of those days, I have rheumatoid arthritis so often get weird pain and feel very unwell, but as the day wore on I realised I was getting worse. My husband duly called an ambulance and they were very concerned and told me that they would take me to the A&E. I was seen fairly quickly, did a urine screen took paracetamol for my pain and the pain eased but I wasn’t putting any weight on my leg. I was told I had a virus and they would call my husband to collect me but he convinced I should be admitted. I felt so unwell I could hardly talk. My husband shortly arrived and as I got into the car he asked me why they didn’t admit me and why didn’t I say something. I told him I felt so ill all I wanted to do was get in to a bed. He wasn’t happy and took me straight to our GP who took one look at me and told me to go straight to another hospital and not wait for an ambulance and there would be a doctor there waiting for me.
I duly arrived at the hospital and was raced off for an MRI of my spine and then seen by two doctors, one of whom is an infection specialist. I don’t remember much of my first week in hospital, I was hallucinating as I saw hundreds of faces on the wall of my room and a nurse would come in and asked me who I was talking to and I remember saying once that it was the Queen. I also remembered much later having a bag of ice put on my head to bring my temperature down. I was in that hospital for nearly four weeks on iv antibiotics through a PICC Line, Cefazolin and Gentamicin and Fentanyl injections for pain. I was told I had Sepsis and an epidural abscess extending from T11 to L4.
During my time in hospital I was visited by three doctors on different occasions who told me that had I got to the hospital 24 hours later I would be dead. A very sobering thought. I left hospital on a dose of five times the normal dose of Keflex daily which I took for 18 months. During that time I saw my infection specialist every week for two months and then monthly for 16 months. During those weeks in hospital I was using a walking frame to get to the bathroom as the pain took about two weeks to subside and I spent most of my time in bed until the last few days.
Once at home I felt quite tired and drained for about six months and had nightmares about getting sepsis again on many occasions. I still have the odd one seven years later. I do get days where I am unable to do much more than sit in a chair and doze. I never know whether that’s caused by the RA or after effects of Sepsis. I am still very wary of getting infections as I am immunosuppressed because of the medications I have to take for my RA. Every time I spike a fever or get a small infection I panic, I never want to feel as bad as I did that month, I really thought I was going to die. It is the second most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me, the first being that my first baby was a full term stillbirth. I remember also feeling really toxic whilst taking Keflex for 18 months. Mixed feelings, one was that I felt relieved that there was probably no chance of getting a blood infection again whilst I was on such a high dose of antibiotics, the other that I did feel vaguely unwell and as though I was being slowly poisoned!
I’m still here, a very active and vocal consumer advocate in the health system, private and public, state, national and internationally. My International committee is the Staphylococcus aureus Network Adaptive Platform trial(SNAP) where I sit as the consumer advisor. I feel very privileged to have won the position and delighted that they take any concerns I have seriously, and that doesn’t always happen as a sepsis survivor and consumer advocate.
My mother was courageous and incredibly positive despite living with rheumatoid arthritis for 56 years. She rarely complained, had a radiant smile and a ready laugh. Her family was everything and she really loved her newest great grandson (pictured).
At 86 years, her heart wasn’t great, and she had a leg ulcer but was still driving herself around and determined to live independently.
In April 2017, Mum had pain from her leg ulcer. I took her to a hospital near our home in a capital city. She was admitted and a specialist changed her pain medication and devised a plan to help her recover.
On Friday, a week or so later, Mum was noticeably subdued when I visited but I thought she was probably still adjusting to her new medication.
On Saturday, my husband and I visited, and she was initially fine. But she became sleepy as the day progressed. This was unusual for Mum. An ‘on call’ Doctor attended, adjusted Mum’s medication and ordered intravenous fluids.
After he left, Mum developed a grey pallor, and as I watched her breathing, I saw her struggle. I found the Doctor who was on his way out of the ward and told him what I’d observed. He told me he’d review Mum and left the ward.
As the day progressed, Mum became delirious and a nurse explained that delirium was common in the elderly and likely to pass.
On Sunday, Mum was sitting up when my husband and I arrived and then dropped off to sleep. I had trouble finding a nurse to explain that Mum was very sleepy and expressed my concerns. She said she would come in later, but no one arrived.
Later, my husband found a nurse. The nurse tried taking observations and told us that the oxygen and blood pressure monitors weren’t working. We told her we’d like the Doctor to reassess Mum. The nurse mumbled something and went away.
By noon, Mum couldn’t wake for lunch. I was getting worried and told a nurse that Mum was unwell and that I wanted to speak to her supervisor. She said, “I report to the Team Leader who doesn’t come in until Monday.” I asked to speak to a Doctor directly. She told me “You have to wait until Monday when the Doctor comes around.” She turned and walked away from me.
By evening, Mum’s delirium had returned and she was ill. She felt cool, looked sick and the nurses were not doing anything to assist.
On Monday, my husband and I decided we’d not leave Mum alone until she’d seen a Doctor and was out of danger. At 9 am she mumbled a few words and fell asleep. As the hours passed, her condition deteriorated with her tongue lolling about in her mouth. I suspected she was unconscious.
My husband and I kept reporting Mum’s condition to the nurses who appeared rushed, indifferent and kept telling us we had to wait. At 11.50am. a Doctor and Trainee arrived and attempted to elicit a response from Mum to no avail. Naloxone was administered with little response.
It took until 16.00 for Mum to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and diagnosed with ‘septic shock’, ‘hospital acquired pneumonia’ and ‘acute kidney injury’.
We were told to say goodbye to her twice over the next few days. Mum rallied like a trooper each time. The Hospital told us Mum could ‘go home’. We admitted her to high care in Aged Care in late May and she died in early July. Her death certificate records heart failure and sepsis as causes of death.
Information from three subsequent complaints informed me that junior nurses and doctors were reluctant to disturb senior Doctors on weekends. I have not been informed that this was investigated.
The Coroner had an independent medical expert review my mother’s hospital records. Among his comments are the following:
I write this account of what happened to my mother with the aim of contributing to a better awareness and understanding of sepsis and its signs and symptoms with the hope that it will prevent similar cases in the future.
by Robyn Flynn (Daughter)