Our dad came down with, what he thought was, the flu. He spent a few days at home trying to kick the sickness. He complained of fever, chills, retching, diarrhea, and waking up in a pool of sweat. He eventually ended up in the local hospital ER due to the symptoms not getting any better. The hospital did not know what was wrong with him but continued to monitor him overnight. I talked to him on the phone while he was there, and he revealed that his potassium levels were critically low, and he was unable to urinate. Little did I know that this would be the last time I would speak with him.
During the early morning hours of the next day, he went into cardiac arrest and the doctors spent 20 minutes getting him stable enough to fly to Reno, Nevada. At this point, our family was notified by one of his nurses that we needed to get to Reno immediately. He went into cardiac arrest for a second time upon arrival to the ICU. He was stabilized, put into a medically induced coma, and placed on a respirator. His fever was 105 degrees, yet his fingers were ice cold. He completed a round of dialysis to remove some of the toxins from his blood. It was then that we were taken into “the room” at the hospital. The room in which we were informed that my dad would not make it through the night. News you never want to hear. We watched as my dad’s body slowly shut down. His kidneys, heart, and lungs were all shutting down. He had low blood pressure and an elevated heart rate. He was maxed out on all medications. We were told it may be best to sign a DNR (do not resuscitate) because they would just end up breaking his ribcage trying to bring him back again and they were unsure if he was still in there as far as brain activity. He passed away the morning of October 13, 2017.
The doctors noted ‘septic shock of an unknown cause’ and ‘multi-organ failure’ on his death certificate. They mentioned that is was a gastrointestinal infection that lead to sepsis. We never found out the actual bacteria (or other agent) that caused the septic shock.
The hours leading up to that morning are engrained into my memory. Memories that I can replay clear as day. And even now, all I am left with is constant thoughts of “what if” and confusion of how something like this could’ve happened. There is nothing I wouldn’t give to bring him back.
I want people to be aware and spread knowledge. Know the signs of sepsis. Get immediate medical help. Don’t let sepsis take the life of another loved one.
In loving memory of our dad, Shaun O’Connor. You are so missed.
