When many people hear the word sepsis, a response to infection, they might think of major surgery or trauma. A local mom is proof that it can stem from the smallest of sources.
Read full article: SA mom almost died from septic shock stemming from small cut, wants you to know its symptoms2 cats test positive for rabies in Comal County– When many people hear the word sepsis, a response to infection, they might think of major surgery or trauma.
“Sepsis isn’t something that we talk about a lot,” said mom and University Hospital Nurse Educator Ashley Britsch.It started at a family trip to a river in 2019. “I fell, cut my leg, it was my knee. Didn’t even think anything of it because it was just such a small cut. We had a great day at the river,” Britsch said.“Especially being in the medical field I thought, ‘I’m fine. ‘ll tough it out,’” she said.“By Monday, my husband was like, ‘We are going to the emergency room.’ And I couldn’t even really respond back to him. I was nonsensical, didn’t know what I was saying,” Britsch said.“They were looking for other sources of infection, thinking it was something else... that this little cut couldn’t possibly be what’s causing this 28-year-old person to be dying. Sure enough, it was just spreading and spreading. It was Strep A, toxic shock syndrome,” she said.“So what they ended up doing was they took muscle from my calf and they were able to rotate it over. And then they took skin and did a skin graft,” she explained, showing her scars. While a lot of her leg is still numb, she can feel her toes and those scars are daily symbols of how lucky she is. “I think they said one in 3 people usually don’t make it through a specific Strep A toxic shock syndrome,” she said.“Confusion or disorientation or lethargy. That’s a bad sign when you have an infection. I would just come to the emergency room immediately,” said Dr. Christopher Dayton, a UT Health Associate Professor who works in the University Hospital ICU.“We across our city and across the country are better recognizing it. And we have ways of alerting us providers. The teamwork aspect here is really important,” Dayton said.“In the patients that we catch it early, they may not may not feel like a big deal because we caught it early and we recognize maybe just that their kidneys suffered a little bit of injury because of the effects,” Dayton said. “If it’s allowed to continue, that’s when you start to have organ failure that needs life support. So earlier is better.”“Don’t be afraid to go to the hospital,” she said. “I know a lot of people, especially medical personnel, are like, ‘I’m fine. I can ride this out.’ Don’t do that.” Dayton said if it’s early enough in those symptoms and you want to make sure it’s not sepsis, you can even go to your primary care doctor or a clinic. If it’s serious they will be able to tell you and transfer you to the hospital. He said things like pneumonia and even urinary tract infection can cause infections that lead to sepsis. “That’s why vaccination is really important. Some of these, you know, viruses and bacteria that particularly cause sepsis, you can actually avoid them completely,” Dayton said.Courtney Friedman anchors KSAT’s weekend evening shows and reports during the week. Her ongoing Loving in Fear series confronts Bexar County’s domestic violence epidemic. She joined KSAT in 2014 and is proud to call the SA and South Texas community home. She came to San Antonio from KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler, where she also anchored & reported.Adam Barraza is a photojournalist at KSAT 12 and an El Paso native. He interned at KVIA, the local ABC affiliate, while still in high school. He then moved to San Antonio and, after earning a degree from San Antonio College and the University of the Incarnate Word, started working in news. He’s also a diehard Dodgers fan and an avid sneakerhead.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Small school in a small town is a way of life in remote UtahGrouse Creek is 120 miles from downtown Salt Lake City, but on the ground, it's more than 200. The fastest route takes travelers through Nevada, with the last stretch made up of gravel.
Read more »
Greater Rochester International Airport nominated for USA Today's best small airportRochester, N.Y. — The Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) has been nominated for a USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice award for the B
Read more »
Small Talk: Small Business Mix & MingleJoin Frost and its community partners at Roadmap Brewing Co. on Thursday, Aug. 29 for an evening of networking and Small Talk! The mix & mingle will include small business leaders from across the San Antonio community and team members from several small business resource organizations, including UTSA SBDC, LiftFund, SageSA, Maestro and more.
Read more »
27 Small Signs A Rich Person Is Old Money Vs New Money'In my hometown, the old money would disapprove of the newly rich because the newly rich wanted to show everyone how wealthy they were. The old-money families were secure enough not to show off.'
Read more »
This is Piper Sandler's top small-cap pickThis is Piper Sandler's top small-cap pick
Read more »
Idaho judge considers whether to hold quadruple murder trial in small town or elsewhereAttorneys for the man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students in 2022 say the pressure to convict is so severe that some Latah County residents are predicting lynch mobs or riots if he is acquitted.
Read more »