2023 was the hardest year ever, I thought at the time. I lost my husband to ALS, in the summer. It was almost a relief to not see him so debilitated, but the sadness was certainly huge. A few months later, some friends took me to Fiji, for some much needed R & R. We had literally been at the resort for an hour and decided to get in the ocean. Immediately I saw the most beautiful blue starfish, and as I reached for it, my foot caught, and I fell on my knees in coral. I knew it was ... Read Full Story

Friday the 13th, yes, Friday the 13th! A beautiful autumn day in October 2023 was a routine day for my husband and myself, a retired, relatively healthy couple aged in our mid seventies. While preparing to retire, later in the evening than usual for us, and feeling the need to urinate, my attempt was unsuccessful. After several additional attempts, but without pain, I made a mental note to contact my physician in the morning, believing I might have a UTI. A decade earlier, I had, with great pain, passed a kidney stone without difficulty, but had experienced the same earlier ... Read Full Story

I’ve just got home from hospital after a kidney infection and sepsis. I started feeling ill Tuesday 01/07/25. In the morning I had a bath before work and was shivering and didn’t feel right at all, I went to work. I had pain in my left lower back so took some Paracetamol and later in the day I was frozen and kept shivering. I left work at 5pm with the air con in the car at full heat despite it being 20 degrees outside and I was violently shaking by now. I came straight home and got in bed fully ... Read Full Story

In the summer of 2022, I was having stomach issues. I went to Urgent Care, and they ordered a CT scan. The Urgent Care Clinic called me later that day and asked me to please go directly to the emergency room because the CT showed that I had a major bowel obstruction. The ER disagreed and I was sent home. Two weeks later I was still having issues and went to my primary care provider who ordered another CT scan. This time the radiology department did not even let me leave the hospital, instead escorting me back to the ER. ... Read Full Story

I lost my 12-year-old son, Aaroh, to sepsis. He had recently undergone a minor diagnostic test — a VCUG (Voiding Cystourethrogram)— and had been on oral antibiotics for nearly 15 days in preparation. The evening after the test, he developed a mild fever. We consulted a doctor by phone, followed the prescribed medication, and the fever subsided before bedtime. We continued giving him the antibiotics that day and the next. That night, he complained of pelvic and lower abdominal pain — we assumed it was a side effect of the test. Concerned, we took him early the next morning to ... Read Full Story