My Fight

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February 6th I was standing in my sister's kitchen late at night and suddenly I got a severe sore throat. The next day I felt I had a 'crick' in my neck on the left side. I continued to get worse, I lost energy, I felt I was walking around in a fog. I had a low grade fever, so I assumed it was just a severe sinus infection or strep. I went to work on the 8th, but couldn't finish my shift and handed my keys off to a shift manager, leaving them in charge, so I could go to the emergency room. By this time I had zero energy, and every step I took caused pain in my head and neck, and I could not move my neck.

The emergency room diagnosed me with a strained muscle in my neck (disregarding my "dangerously low blood pressure") and released me with pain pills.

February 9th, I followed up with the doctor and screamed in extreme pain trying to sit up when she asked me to. My symptoms were not improving and pain medication did not help at all (it may as well been sugar pills). By this time I was sensitive to light as well. Rapid strep test came back negative, but I was given antibiotics and different pain medication and a steroid shot, and given the option to admit to the hospital for pain control for the next 24 hours.

February 10th, contacted doctor to admit me to the hospital. Doctor was in meetings and I was told I would have to either go to the ER (which was devastating since the ER had released me and done nothing) or a different clinic. I went to an urgent care clinic and was refused due to severity of symptoms. I went home, hopeless.

february 11th, could barely get out of bed, could not pick up my two year old or help him get dressed. Two year old oddly cooperative that morning and climbed in car seat when asked. Took him to the daycare wearing PJs and asked them to dress him, explaining I couldn't hardly drive, let alone dress my own child. Went directly to a different ER than previously. (And arranged for child pick up). Was in ER for few hours-fluids, IV antibiotics, tons of tests, pain meds by IV; released hours later due to small improvement, with more pain med prescriptions and more antibiotics. 

February 12th, return to ER. Same as previous, except stayed longer. More of same tests again, more IV, specialist of my recommendation paged (ENT), along with ENT on call (as far as I was aware at the time). Neither came. Was released.

February 13th, around 7am; call from head of ER, "return to ER immediately" possible death by end of day; "so sorry we missed this on both scans"; etc. It was explained that the ENT I had requested, had come in that morning, and by chance had looked at my chart (he had thought the page the night before had been a mistake since he was not on call) and had immediately spotted Lemierres due to a graduate paper he had written years ago.  I was told As soon as you arrive let them know you are expected and we will get you right back. Arrival, 45 minutes in waiting room before going to desk a second time and explaining head or ER contacted me and said I would die by end of day-five minutes later, admitted to ER. Within one hour admitted to Hospital. Diagnosis Lemierres. Sent to recovery floor, within half hour moved to ICU due to blood pressure. 

February 14th moved to ICU step down due to my emotional state of not able to see my children while in hospital. Stayed here for numerous days, then moved to fifth floor, fourth floor, and finally seventh floor. Released February 23 on IV medications.

Horrible experience in hospital. Every person coming into the room had a different thing to say, might not live, air lift me to parent hospital, ambulance me to parent hospital, staying here, being released, be here for couple of days, be here for a few weeks, being released that day....it was crazy. On call ENT accused me of being a drug user and shooting up in jugular and telling me her job would be "easier" if I could admit it, took three days for doctors to all finally accept diagnosis of Lemierres, all believing it must be something else. Main doctor accused me of being combative on the third day I was in ICU, which really confused me since I could barely move and barely speak due to the pain I was in. I just started crying when she said that and told her about nurses and doctors all telling me different things and pain mess not helping, etc....begged her to take me off the pain meds because I couldn't focus at all on them and they weren't helping--I got a pain med button after that, which I found comical.  Had a surgery done through my mouth-through the back wall of my throats to remove the abscess. On call ENT apparently wanted to slice my neck open from outside my body which had incredibly high mortality rates, but my savior ENT interviened again and told me there was another way (through mouth) which was more difficult to perform, but overall safer.  

Was told the morning of the 14th to "prepare" my children (8 and 3 that day) for my death, which I did the best way I could on Valentines Day and my now 3year old's birthday.

On the day I was released, I was told that morning I would be in the hospital at least another two weeks. That evening the hospital doctors switched out, and the new doctor released me to home health care.  It was a dizzy time of changing IV hook ups, packing, and learning how to give myself a shoot for blood thinners. I was not mentally prepared to be released and was scared out of my mind. 

Once home I had so many medications to take on a daily basis I had to make medication charts for myself to sign off. I did recover much quicker than expected-they initially thought I would be on IV antibiotics for six weeks and then six weeks of oral antibiotics, and six months of blood thinners, but on week two of being out of the hospital I was almost 100% infection free and the doctor wanted to pull the PICC line-I'm sure he saw the sheer terror in my eyes because he seemed to soften a little and told me he would leave it for another week just to be sure. The next week I was 100% infection free and the PICC line was taken out and oral antibiotics were unnecessary. I was cured. I was tired for weeks and still on other medications and pain medications, but the disease was gone. Two weeks later I was taken off blood thinners completely (they have found that it is unlikely the blood thinners will dissolve the clot and also unlikely at that point that the blood clot will break and travel to other parts of the body).

i returned to work the first week in May. It was difficult to return to work, and I wouldn't admit to anyone that it was too much for me. I would 'crash' as soon as I got home and then get up the next morning and do it all again. It got better over the next few months, but not much. 

January 5th 2016 I was taken off work for seven months for a work Comp injury I had sustained prior to getting LS (I had been released by my doctor to resume work Comp stuff in August). That time off was needed to make my full recovery from LS. The mental recovery and the physical recovery I didn't realize my body had needed. I returned to work in the middle of August and I was a completely different person-I was back to my old self at work, with the complication of memory issues.

(had memory tests/brain damage evaluation) in May 2016 and found damage from LS in short term, treatment is same as severe ADHD.

Today I regularly visit a support group site on Facebook, I don't run freaking out to the doctor every time I cough, and I have a new perspective on life. I don't 'sweat the small stuff' so much anymore and I enjoy nature and the world around me much more.  Having Lemierres blessed me in a way not many have the opportunity to be blessed-I know what my purpose in this life is, I know what is important in this life, and I am generally a more positive person. I know why I get out of bed every morning and learned the reasons when I was fighting for my life in the hospital.  I'm not saying I don't have bad days or I don't get angry or stressed out, I'm saying I tend to take a step back and look at things differently than I used to....I let things 'roll off' now, and in general my life is so much better because of it.