Terri Harper
Sunday, July 1st, 2018, it was like any other day. I felt fine and cleaned the house most of the day. Later that evening I was feeling tired but figured it was from cleaning. I started feeling very cold and began shivering. I went to bed and woke up the next morning and thought I was getting the flu as now I was achy and not myself. I noticed my foot was a little red and swollen. My husband took me to a clinic, and they were very concerned. I had a fever, and my oxygen was low. They called an ambulance and immediately took me to the hospital. They started running tests. A few hours later my whole foot and part of my leg was bright red. They found that I had cellulitis caused by a cut on my foot.
My oxygen was dropping and I was struggling to breathe. They decided to admit me. The next day, after more tests they found that I had severe sepsis and ARDS. I was admitted to the ICU. When the doctor came in and explained everything, I just couldn’t believe what was happening. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to me. They told my husband and family I needed to be on a ventilator. I was so scared! So many things were running through my mind. Was I going to live or die? No one knew what was going to happen but we all just
hoped and prayed for the best. I was on the ventilator for three days and mostly sedated. When they took me off of I was relieved. I thought I was okay and going to get to go home soon! However, the doctor was still concerned. He talked about putting me on the ventilator again if I didn’t improve. I was terrified and begging not to be put on it again. They monitored me for a few more days and eventually I got better and was able to breathe with very little help with the oxygen tube.
It just happened that my husband had a planned surgery on July 10th that couldn’t be rescheduled. Luckily, it was just an overnight stay for him. I was so happy the nurses let me go see him before and after his surgery. They would wheel me to his room and come get me to take me back to my room. It’s not often you see couples in the hospital at the same time and I was very thankful that I was feeling better to be by his side after he spent the whole time in the hospital with me.
We were both planning to get released on July 11th. We were so happy to get to go home. I was anxiously waiting for them to come take my PICC line out because I knew that was the only thing left to do. A few hours went by and then the nurse came in. She asked if I was ready to go home and of course, I was like, “YES!!!” She told me to lean back so she could take the PICC line out. I laid back and wasn’t scared or feeling nervous at all. Just excited to get to go home. She then said, “Okay, its out.” I immediately felt weird and could barely breathe. I felt gurgling in my chest. She told me I was okay and that it may be anxiety. I then told her I couldn’t breathe and felt like I was going to faint. She knew something else was wrong, so she called for the Emergency Response Team. The next thing I remember is the doctor standing over me and an oxygen mask on my face. I remember hurting so bad. It felt like something was sitting on my chest. I felt like I was going to die, I was in so much pain. My lower half of my body was numb. I couldn’t move anything but my hands and head. They immediately rushed me for a CT scan and hooked me up to monitors. They told me I was in respiratory failure and had an air embolism from removing the PICC line. They took me back to ICU where they could monitor me overnight.
Luckily, the next day I was doing better and was released. After everything that I have went through I ended up experiencing PTSD and anxiety. My life has completely changed. I am still experiencing anxiety everyday as I think back to everything that happened. I am thankful to be here today and to share my story with you. I seem to be doing much better although I experience quite a bit of “brain fog”.
I want to thank the ARDS Foundation, Sepsis Alliance, and the Begin Again Foundation. I have found helpful information as well as funding to help with my expenses. They’re truly amazing! I appreciate everything they do!