'I thought I had the flu': Mom nearly died after dismissing deadly sepsis symptoms

In the aftermath of NASCAR prima Kyle Busch’s decease from sepsis, a Virginia Beach parent who astir mislaid her beingness to the deadly information is sharing her harrowing acquisition to rise awareness.

In 2015, Audrey Wiggins was a steadfast 31-year-old erstwhile she thought she’d travel down with the flu. Instead, her information spiraled into a terrible lawsuit of sepsis that near her successful the ICU for 10 days, including 5 days successful a medically induced coma. 

Now recovered, Wiggins – who is joined to nonrecreational golfer Marc Leishman – is dedicated to raising consciousness astir the information done her nonprofit organization, the Begin Again Foundation. She has besides written a children's publication aimed astatine helping families admit the informing signs.

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Sudden decline

Wiggins’ ordeal began erstwhile she began to consciousness sick 1 evening portion caring for her sons, past 19 months and 3 years old, portion her hubby was traveling.

Audrey Leishman (far right, with her family) is simply a Virginia Beach parent who astir mislaid her beingness to sepsis. (Audrey Leishman)

"I had ne'er really had the flu before, but I was achy, feverish and cold. And truthful I thought, this seems similar the flu," she told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview.

As the days went on, Wiggins started to consciousness worse. Her fever spiked higher and she developed terrible tummy issues.

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"At 1 point, I really thought I was going a small spot crazy, due to the fact that my close elbow and near large toed started hurting – it was the astir random thing. I hadn't injured myself," she said. "I was truly confused arsenic to what was going on."

When Wiggins became excessively anemic to attraction for her sons and started to person nosebleeds, her person insisted that she spot a doctor.

At urgent care, Wiggins’ somesthesia and bosom complaint were abnormally high, and her humor unit was dangerously low. She was taken by ambulance to the exigency room.

"I was a very, precise sick person."

While today’s hospitals person "come a agelong way" toward sepsis consciousness and recognition, Wiggins noted that wasn’t the lawsuit successful 2015.

"They took a precise agelong clip to fig retired what was going incorrect with me," she said, adding that doctors astatine archetypal thought she was afflicted with autoimmune diseases. 

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"They kept investigating maine for antithetic things. Eventually, they admitted me, and I was successful the ICU for a full of 10 days – 5 of which were successful a medically induced coma."

The sepsis yet turned into acute respiratory distress syndrome.

"I precise overmuch retrieve not being capable to breathe," Wiggins recalled. "That was by acold the scariest part. It got to the constituent wherever I had to intermission betwixt each connection to instrumentality a breath, and it was fundamentally similar sipping air."

Now recovered, Wiggins is dedicated to raising consciousness astir the information done her nonprofit organization. (Audrey Leishman)

At 1 point, she aboriginal learned, determination was a "good chance" she wasn't going to aftermath up from the coma.

"When I yet did aftermath up, it was rather the process of relearning however to locomotion again, dealing with at-home carnal therapy and being connected a PICC enactment (peripherally inserted cardinal catheter)," Wiggins shared.

The archetypal twelvemonth of betterment was "very difficult," she said. "My immune strategy was truthful compromised that I was sick constantly."

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Today, Wiggins says she is healthy, but that her representation "is not what it utilized to be" and that she gets fatigued much often.

The archetypal origin of her sepsis remains unclear, she said, but it whitethorn person been linked to her caller IUD removal.

"I did person the diagnosis of toxic daze syndrome, but I besides had tonsillitis, strep throat, a UTI and pneumonia," she said. "I was a very, precise sick person."

What to cognize astir sepsis

In terrible cases, corruption tin dispersed into the bloodstream, triggering the widespread, life-threatening inflammatory effect that is sepsis. 

It tin rapidly pb to insubstantial damage, organ nonaccomplishment and decease if not treated close away, according to Fox News elder aesculapian expert Dr. Marc Siegel.

"The assemblage reacts by making inflammatory chemicals. It’s the immune strategy revving up … but it tin wounded much than help," helium antecedently told Fox News Digital.

"When I yet did aftermath up, it was rather the process of relearning however to locomotion again, dealing with at-home carnal therapy and being connected a PICC enactment (peripherally inserted cardinal catheter)," Wiggins shared. (Audrey Leishman )

Wiggins explained the effect with an analogy: "Instead of your assemblage sending retired the Navy SEALs, it sends retired the full U.S. Armed Forces."

As sepsis worsens, it tin origin a driblet successful humor unit and interfere with the transportation of oxygen to the body’s tissues, perchance starring to lactic acidosis — a unsafe buildup of lactic acerb successful the bloodstream.

"Instead of your assemblage sending retired the Navy SEALs, it sends retired the full U.S. Armed Forces."

Organ nonaccomplishment is simply a superior risk, peculiarly affecting the kidneys, Siegel warned.

"The kidneys fail, toxins from the kidneys physique up, humor unit goes down, fever goes up, the lungs neglect — thing called ARDS," helium said.

"In a clip erstwhile radical are struggling, if I tin assistance easiness that load – adjacent conscionable the tiniest bit, truthful they tin absorption much connected the betterment – it is my implicit passionateness and grant to proceed to bash that." (Audrey Leishman)

ARDS — acute respiratory distress syndrome — occurs erstwhile inflammation causes fluid to leak into the lungs, making it hard for oxygen to scope the bloodstream.

Common informing signs of sepsis tin see precocious fever, confusion, accelerated breathing, utmost weakness, debased humor pressure, accelerated bosom complaint and bluish oregon mottled skin, per the CDC. Patients tin besides consciousness precise acold and acquisition utmost pain, Wiggins added.

Turning endurance into a mission

After Wiggins was discharged from the hospital, she was struck by however small radical knew astir sepsis, which led her to commencement the Begin Again Foundation.

"I had ne'er heard of sepsis – and I realized that was wherefore I astir died," she shared. "If I had known what the symptoms were and what to look retired for, I would person sought attraction earlier."

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The costly aesculapian costs – for everything from location healthcare to antibiotics to a walker and different instrumentality – were besides shocking. "I learned that sepsis is the astir costly hospitalization measure determination is," Wiggins said. "I retrieve thinking, ‘What if we didn't person the wealth to spend this?’"

Every hr that sepsis goes untreated, the mortality complaint increases by up to 8%, Wiggins noted. (iStock)

"In a clip erstwhile radical are struggling, if I tin assistance easiness that load – adjacent conscionable the tiniest bit, truthful they tin absorption much connected the betterment – it is my implicit passionateness and grant to proceed to bash that. And that is the main absorption of the organization."

Wiggins’ children’s book, "Katie Koala's Biggest Bite," focuses connected a young miss who gets injured and becomes ill, past her parent takes her to the doc soon capable to drawback sepsis earlier it becomes life-threatening.

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"My extremity for this publication is that it volition beryllium successful some small hands and their parents' bigger hands … and that by speechmaking this story, they larn astir what sepsis is and what symptoms to look retired for," she said.

"I've work excessively galore stories of parents who did question treatment, who took their kid to the doctor, and were told it was conscionable a virus."

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Wiggins said the simplest happening parents tin bash is to inquire the doctor: "Could this beryllium sepsis?"

"Just asking that question could pb them connected the way to tally a antithetic laboratory sheet oregon look astatine the symptoms successful a antithetic way," she added.

"I've work excessively galore stories of parents who took their kid to the doc and were told it was conscionable a virus."

Every hr that sepsis goes untreated, the mortality complaint increases by up to 8%, Wiggins noted.

"Time genuinely is the astir important happening – and getting that aboriginal attraction tin forestall you from adjacent being hospitalized."

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One of the astir important things radical should know, according to Wiggins, is that sepsis tin hap from immoderate infection. 

"The astir communal causes are respiratory infections, UTIs and kidney stones, but it tin hap from a cut. It tin hap from strep throat, the flu," she warned.