Title:
Surviving Sepsis: A Personal Journey with Alycia and Marty
Subtitle:
Accepting Personal Battles, Finding Strength and Building Resilience
Transcript:
Alycia Anderson: Welcome to Pushing Forward with Alycia a podcast that gives disability a voice each week. We will explore topics like confidence, ambition, resilience, and finding success against all odds. We are creating a collective community that believes that all things are possible for all people. Open hearts, clear paths.
Let’s go.
Welcome back to pushing forward with Alycia. I’m Alycia. We have an interesting conversation that we’re gonna have today So I invited My wonderful husband, Marty Anderson, back on because we’re going to get personal today. Welcome back, Marty.
Marty Anderson: Hey, it’s nice to be back on Pushing Forward with Alycia, and I’m excited about today’s topic.
Alycia Anderson: So we were planning on doing something different this week for the launch, but I followed this advocate. Through my Instagram and through LinkedIn, and she’s been posting a lot about this week being sepsis survivor week, which is an annual observance that takes place the second week of February every year, and it honors people who have survived sepsis, which is a life threatening condition where the body overreacts.
To an infection and this survivor week is its aim is to share stories and raise awareness about the physical and mental and emotional challenges that survivors face when they are battling sepsis. And the week is aimed to educate the public about prevention and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.
And all of that. I’ve been watching this advocate over the last couple of weeks gear up for sepsis survivor week. And then it just occurred to me, I’m a sepsis survivor, and maybe I need to share my story with our community and talk about it a little bit. So Marty and I made a shift this week on episodes that were going to be released to talk about our personal story with sepsis and my journey that I had with it. So I’m so happy that you’re here today, babe, to help me navigate this conversation. Cause you definitely helped me navigate sepsis.
Marty Anderson: Yeah talk about a scary event. It was definitely something that we weren’t expecting. Caught us off guard and it caught us in a strange way because we were out of town.
Alycia Anderson: What we should do is give a little backstory. So I don’t get into the nitty gritty about my disability very often, like the internal stuff, the non apparent disability that I have had challenges with my entire life. So just like a little bit of backstory. My disability is called sacral agenesis, and it’s a congenital disability.
And the internal stuff is I was born with one kidney, functioning kidney. I have two kidneys, but one that’s functioning. I was born with a bladder that was incontinent and I’ve struggled with bladder, bowel, kidney, all of that my entire life. It has taken me in and out of the hospital throughout my life and will continue to until the day I die.
I had a reconstructed bladder when I was about 14 years old and the doctors went in and they took out my incontinent bladder and they made me a new bladder out of my small intestines, which was amazing. I had control over when I needed to go to the bathroom.
I could feel when I needed to go very successful, very hard surgery. It almost killed me in those moments, honestly, but I got through it and it’s given me so much independence and so much liberty in my life. It was one of the best decisions that my parents made for me when I was 14 and still struggling with a bladder that was incontinent.
They chose to do this surgery back then too, because my kidney was struggling and they were trying to find a way to give it some relief and this surgery and my specific situation. was to do that. At least that was the hope. After I got this surgery done, the side effects of the surgery were chronic kidney stones and chronic bladder kidney infections from these stones.
So from the age of 14 to, to today, it is something that I’ve had to manage. And depending on the season of my life and the doctors and the care that I was having in those moments. Most of the time it was treated with surgeries to remove kidney stones and bladder stones and lots of antibiotics to manage chronic infections.
Chronic infections meaning during this moment in time that we’re about to tell you about. I was in the peak of my career. I was hustling. I was traveling all over the country selling software. I was whining and dining with clients. I was running myself low, running myself ragged, honestly.
Through all of that, about every six to eight weeks. I would get a new kidney infection to the point of fever in bed, chills, not feeling well. And so I was on this constant cycle of antibiotics. Every six to eight weeks, I was starting a new round of antibiotics and we were just treating the symptoms as it went.
And there was this moment during this time where my kidney Was inflamed it swelled up really big my healthy kidney, and I had to go into the hospital and Have nephrostomy to put in my kidney where I had to then have like six Different procedures trying to remove these stones that were blocking the urine that was going in and out of my kidney that was swelling up My kidney fast forward through all of that.
It was pretty difficult We finally get the stone taken care of, we get it out, and things start flowing again, and I get the nephrostomy tube out, and then I have to go on a work trip 10 days later. And so I decide to go, I’m feeling okay, I think it’s all right, and Marty and I fly to Denver. He came with me because it was right before Thanksgiving and his sister lived in Denver.
So we decided to make this trip. I was at these big deals. I was about to close. There was no way that I was going to cancel my trip to go to Denver and make the money to do the corporate hustle. We fly to Denver. My sweet husband’s there. He’s enjoying time with his sister. I’m out hustling, doing my meetings, getting the deals closed.
And then we had the weekend to spend in Denver with his sister’s family and enjoy. Thanksgiving. I think it was Thanksgiving day or the day before. I don’t even remember what day I really got sick. Do you remember ?
Marty Anderson: It was Thanksgiving night we were staying in downtown Denver at my sister’s and
Alycia Anderson: I was feeling run down. Most of that trip, Denver, first of all, is just harsh anyways from it being dry and I was dehydrated. I was still healing from my surgery and I wasn’t giving myself the break that I needed, which was a big problem. Wasn’t drinking enough water.
I was enjoying wine with the family in the evening, like all of that stuff. And I didn’t feel my best, but I didn’t feel terrible. And when I was functioning back then, I was used to running at a level of having a slight infection most of the time. And so what felt like I wasn’t feeling the greatest, but I didn’t think it was as bad as it was.
And we get to the night where it’s like Thanksgiving day before something like that. And I pulled Marty aside and I go, I really am not feeling good. I’m sure I have an infection. I need to get some antibiotics. And that evening it just progressed really fast. We’re sitting in his sister’s house, and I’m starting to get a really high fever.
Like my body was shaking, quivering. I couldn’t stop like freezing, but high fever, really not feeling well. And so Marty says that we need to go to the hospital. We go to the hospital. Kidney infection,
Marty Anderson: something that we had tried go to bed and we had tried to like, we were, my sister’s house, unfortunately it was downstairs, we had to crawl downstairs to get down to our bed. And, a big, beautiful bedroom. But it was we were down there and we were hoping that you would feel a little better if you got into bed and could just rest.
And then, you were just showing signs of very, very bad. And it was something that we were like, okay, we’ve got to go to the hospital. And then not only making the decision now in foreign territory not being around our doctors, not being around our primary cares, not being in our network. Really? how do we go? Where do we pick? What? And Alycia has a very Delicate and special, different type of body and in of the things that are related to her body in regards to where do we want to go to the best specialist that we possibly could because those are the people we’re going to need to tap into if things were to be serious.
Alycia Anderson: and I cut in real quick what he means by specialist is, and this is something for disabled people to think about or anybody really when you’re traveling. And especially if you have unique situations where you need specialists. When you go to the emergency room, you picking a hospital that, is going to have a urologist that is a specialized urologist that is going to know a system that is very unique out of the norm.
And we didn’t know we had no idea where to go. This was a lesson learned that I need to be planning for that more. Before we leave, before we go on a trip, because what if something happens you don’t want to end up in a hospital that is just a traditional, like hospital without specialists for sure.
I need that. So anyways, go ahead, babe. I can’t
Marty Anderson: Yeah, so I remember asking my sister, what’s the best in the area? We did some quick Google searches and we went to a hospital and we went in and we were basically just trying to figure out things what’s happening obvious went to the emergency room and then all of a sudden there was a diagnosis. And it was sepsis, and we were admitted immediately into the hospital.
Alycia Anderson: And so what that means is, The stone that they took out of my kidney and or the urine got Infected from the surgery or from the stone being broken up whatever happened Which is one of the ways that you can get sepsis is through surgery and or through urinary tract Infections which was common for me, but none of my urinary tract infections My kidney infections had never ever turned into sepsis.
That meant that it got into my blood And that is a very serious condition that is on a time timer. It’s on a timeline. And when we had gone there, the doctors, as they were investigating what, and I needed fluid antibiotics. I was in the hospital for like five days.
Marty Anderson: You went in to septic shock.
Alycia Anderson: yeah
Marty Anderson: It had gotten to a very serious point. It just changed our whole lives for a flash of an instant.
Alycia Anderson: The doctors had told us that if I would have waited one more day that my organs would have started to shut down and all of a sudden I got extremely scared. How did I let it go this long? I’m, I am managing these things constantly. I can’t even believe that it has gotten this far and it was really scary.
And my sweet husband. It was days of me laying in bed, my body shaking. Like I literally could not stop my body from shaking. Unless Marty would climb in bed Marty’s the best. He would climb in that hospital bed with me and he would wrap his arms around me as tight as he could. And it was the only thing that would stop my, allow my body to relax from the quivering.
And it was so scary. And I remember lying in that bed going, what is going on? And Marty would leave and do research and he would come back and he’d come and sit and he’d say, Alycia, this is pretty bad. And I go, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. I need to get through this first before you tell me how bad this actually is. Do you want to talk about that?
Marty Anderson: yeah, for people out there that are witnessing their loved ones go through such a traumatic experience, it shakes you to the core a little bit. And for me, I’ve witnessed this a few times and I have a little bit of I go through the motions. I reach out to and family, notify them what’s happening, let them know that in the hospital.
I, go through all of the things that I can. And as far as tidying up for my wife, making sure that emails are being responded to, or anything that, that is happening is just, Okay. And bringing her all the supplies that she needs. It’s, um, it’s a comfort game. And then I don’t ever want to leave your side.
And so I remember for about mostly the five days, I think I was there at the hospital with you. There was brief moments that I would go back and take a shower and put on some fresh clothes and come back and just let my family know what was happening over there. And So I remember I was going to school at the time and I had my laptop and I was going through finals and I just sat in your hospital room and worked on my finals.
I was sitting there with you and it was it was Very scary. With sepsis, we were learning that there was like a, in the 25% chance of and all kinds of things that can happen. And just really makes you think, and that was one of the moments that. It pushed you into your advocacy.
I remember you telling people all the time about this. Is that were laying there and realizing that life is fragile and it can be gone in a moment. And are we doing everything that we can with the time that we have? And I think you should share a little bit about that because you say it so beautifully.
Alycia Anderson: Yeah. This was in 2019. My corporate hustle was at its highest. I was pushing myself really hard at work. And what I’m doing today with my advocacy and my speaking and all of the work that we’re doing with the business, it was always in my heart, but I didn’t never knew how to start.
And I, it was just a process to get there to believe in myself and to take the leap, but this was one of the motivators. I remember one moment laying in that hospital bed. I don’t think Marty was there in that moment. And I was just with my own thoughts. And I remember thinking to myself how Alycia, this is really.
like this is a close call. If you do not get out of here and you did not share and say and advocate the way that you know that you are meant to do in this world, shame on you. Shame on you, Alycia. You wasted it. You wasted your life. And that was one of the motivators that when I was so blessed and thankful that I did eventually heal and I got out of the hospital and I got to go home because I was lying there in bed going, oh my God, am I not going to even get to go home?
Is this what my fate is here in Denver on a work trip? Oh my God, how is this happening? So when I got to go home, I had reinvigorated just. I guess motivation to do what I’m supposed to do, what I really feel like in my core that I’m supposed to give to this world and do it before I can’t. And that’s what I came home and started to do, but I felt like it was really important for me to share my story about this because.
There’s a lot of research out there that says, and we’re not doctors, and we’re not giving you medical advice at all, but early detection is really important when you have an infection. And I was reading some of the CDC statistics, and it says in 2020, there is an estimated 48M cases of sepsis that resulted in 11M deaths.
It represented 20 percent of global deaths. In the United States. 1 million, 700, 000 adults develop sepsis. So it’s common. It’s the third, most common cause of death. So I wanted to share my story. I don’t talk about these things a lot because I think I.
get through and I just move forward and keep going on and just know that this, these infections, kidney infections, bladder infections, urinary tract infections are part of my journey and they will always be as they are with a lot of wheelchair users, a lot of spinal cord injury. We all deal with these things.
A lot, most of us do, a lot of us do, but I wanted to share my story and own it to myself. As a powerful piece of my path and to just acknowledge it and lift it up. And it’s been one of the motivators for me to also, because it was such a scary experience to make sure that I am not waiting an extra day, that I’m not waiting to see if the fever gets worse.
That I’m not waiting too long, even if I’m not at home with my own doctors, like it’s really important. Yeah. To get in front of these things before it gets so bad that you, your body starts to shut down. And what I really appreciate in all of this is my amazing partner and husband who has always just, he deals with a lot with my disability.
When you look at me from the outside, you don’t see all these things inside of me that have been my biggest challenge of my life. And Marty has been through many. surgeries with me. He has taken care of me and the hardest of hard times. And I don’t know how I would ever gotten through these things without you.
And I’m just so grateful for you. And I love you so much.
Marty Anderson: That’s what being married is all about
Alycia Anderson: Yeah, it is.
Marty Anderson: happy to be there for you. And I have a disability too. And you deal with a lot of things with my disability also. And it’s it’s amazing to have somebody help you through these things. I’m sure there’s people out there dealing with this type of stuff on their own. it’s just important to listen to the signs that your body is giving to you. And make sure that when you need to check in on things, you go through the motions and do it. And would say that our community in the disabled world is, higher risk for sepsis. There’s so many things that are common infection sites with the urinary tract and skin and gastrointestinal and bloodstream and lungs. And they say that sepsis is majorly coming from bacterial infections, although it can come from viral infections and fungal infections as well. It hit people with chronic conditions, autoimmune disorders, chemotherapy and radiation patients people using steroids, and can happen when, you’re having surgery or an invasive device is installed in your body.
It can the other factors of age and malnutrition and. It can even be a strep A and it’s just a very serious thing and it’s great that we got on and shared our story about this so that understand what sepsis is what can happen when you have sepsis.
can be very Life altering, it can shut down everything that you’re doing. So better to try to stay ahead of all these things. And we try to do a great job of this. And thing was very like, apparent was that maybe you were pushing yourself a little too hard at that point where you weren’t watching your body as much as you needed to.
It was something that we saw a lot in those later years when you were really climbing the ladder and getting to higher positions in corporate America, the demands were higher on you and it was longer days and that was a result of all of this. And We need to be conscious of that in in the disability realm, especially when we talk about work practices and how do we adapt and still be a part of a working society, and we all want to do that, we all want to be able to provide for ourselves and the things that we want in this world.
And you do that through work. So how do we make the work world a little. barrier free to get into it and also allow us to thrive in it without sacrificing ourselves to the point where it could lead to sepsis and you’re in the hospital all that you’re working for is not going to mean anything, right?
Alycia Anderson: Yeah. And that’s why babe like from a barrier free and work perspective, like we also need to find work environments that we’re allowed to say I need to rest, like I’ve got something going on. And that’s, what’s been one of the bigger challenges about working and being disabled is we’re trying to keep up with the average able body, lived experience and the reality is.
There was just a lot of layers of challenges that we need to accommodate for to do the same thing as everybody else. And. I know for me back then I wasn’t comfortable enough saying I need a few extra days off. I need to not take that trip. I need to not worry about if I’m going to close that deal this week or next week or a month from now and allow my body to recoup.
And what I also have realized is even though my body is like you said my body was delicate. And it is inside. It’s delicate. It’s, the inside of my body has been completely reconstructed 100%. But it works. And as delicate as all of those things are, it’s so strong and it’s so resilient and it has survived so many, I can’t even count how many surgeries this body and infections and kidney. Challenges that this body has survived. And so it’s so strong too, but it needs me to respect it and to give it some rest when it’s time. And I’m trying to do better at that now in my life. Which is why entrepreneurship has been so powerful as a disabled person, because I can make those decisions a lot easier now that I am the boss.
Marty Anderson: And it’s not that you’re working any less
Alycia Anderson: That’s true.
Marty Anderson: you’re working actually more, but you’re able to. Be able to manage that pedal on when do I slow down? When do I speed up again? And without the pressures of all of the other things. And I believe that all of this that we talk about with disability. Actually carries over to every human being
Alycia Anderson: Yeah,
Marty Anderson: every human being needs to be able to see the warning signs when they’re pushing themselves too hard. And when, and how do we create that? okay for us to take a break when we need to moment and create those opportunities for a little more R and R because our society is working more and more than it ever has.
Alycia Anderson: It’s a shift in culture. It’s a shift in culture that we need to start to look at for sure.
Marty Anderson: yeah, what would you say is a pushing forward moment
Alycia Anderson: I think a good pushing forward moment would be, listen to your body intuitively and Take action.
Marty Anderson: Don’t be afraid to take that action. Yeah, that’s awesome.
Alycia Anderson: I hope this episode has helped somebody out there. There’s a lot of people who have walked or rolled this journey before so I wanted to share mine. I appreciate y’all. This has been pushing forward with Alycia and Marty and we’ll see you next time.