Okeechobee woman survives septic shock and credits prayers of community

Posted 12/4/20

After septic shock almost killed her, Melissa Bryant agreed to tell her story in the hope that it might help others to recognize the warning signs before it is too late for someone they love.

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Okeechobee woman survives septic shock and credits prayers of community

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OKEECHOBEE — After septic shock almost killed her, Melissa Bryant agreed to tell her story in the hope that it might help others to recognize the warning signs before it is too late for someone they love. Melissa’s story began on Sept. 15, 2019. “I had no idea I was sick,” she said. “I was tired, verging on exhausted, but what mom isn’t exhausted at the end of the day,” she asked with a little laugh. The only other medical issues she had at the time were some skin problems, but this was not unusual for her, she explained. She was always at the dermatologist for one thing or another. She saw him on Friday and she told him she was having trouble with her toenails. They were extremely painful and the skin around them was blistered and she had finally just pulled the toenails completely off which relieved the pain tremendously.

On Saturday, Melissa felt pretty good, she worked on two quilts and did some things around the house. She still felt really tired though and asked her mom if she would bring her a gallon of milk the next day when she came home from church. She took a shower and went to bed.

She has no recollection of Sunday at all. This is where her mom, Virginia “Ginny” Bryant picks up the story. Ginny got to Melissa’s house around 3 p.m. on Sunday, because she attended a training after the church service. When she arrived, she rang the doorbell, and no one answered. She thought that was odd, because she knew Melissa wasn’t feeling well. That’s why she asked her to bring the milk. She was going to leave the milk outside the door but decided to use her key and go inside to check on her.

When she got inside, she was horrified to find the house ransacked. It looked like a fight took place. She discovered Melissa, nude, halfway under a chair, incoherent and covered in bruises. Her toes were completely black. It appeared as though she had been attacked. She was conscious but all she would say, in a deep guttural growl was what sounded like, “flexor,” over and over again.

Ginny called 911, and Okeechobee City Police Detective Bill Saum was the lead investigator. “He did an excellent job,” said Ginny. “He was awesome throughout the whole thing.”

After Melissa was taken to the hospital, blood work was done and they realized she had septic shock. She was flown to Lawnwood Medical Center the same day.

When Melissa was arrived at Lawnwood, Ginny was told that if she had not found her when she did, Melissa would probably have been dead within an hour. They discovered she had pneumonia which had lead to sepsis followed by septic shock.

She was in a coma for 14 days and came close to death numerous times. She had a blood clot in her lung and behind one knee. She was in the hospital for 35 days and sent home with toes that were gangrenous. They had dry gangrene, and the hospital said the best thing to do was to allow them to fall off on their own, but at all costs, they did not want her to develop wet gangrene. She was instructed to call if she developed any fever at all. On Oct. 29, she had a temperature of 99.1 and thought it was probably nothing but called them anyway. They told her to come in right away, and on Halloween, they amputated all the toes on her left foot. Now, she has a prosthesis she is learning to use. She walks OK without it, but the toes are what gives you the lift off when you walk, she explained. If you don’t have them, you can develop trouble in your knees and hips later.

Ginny and Melissa have concluded that the bruises on Melissa’s body and the damage in her house was likely caused by Melissa herself while she was confused and feverish on Sunday. They believe she was walking into walls and furniture before finally collapsing.

“What makes it more scary, more sinister, is how will I know the next time? What mom goes around checking her temperature? What mom on Earth doesn’t feel tired at the end of the day? How do we prepare for this? Because we want to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Melissa.

Melissa said she is still struggling with Post Septic Shock Syndrome. It affects many different parts of her body. All the organs in her body were damaged by the infection, and it takes time to recover. At one time, all the finger tips on one hand were black, but now they have regained their normal color. One of them still has no feeling in the end though, she said. It has affected every area of her life, mentally and physically. She said it is difficult adjusting to a new normal and sometimes people think she should be fine by now, but she isn’t. It takes a long time to recover from this and some things will never be the same. She has to rest a lot more. She gets tired very easily, and she has to just accept that, and make a new life for herself.

Both women want to thank the community for the help they were given while Melissa was in the hospital and while she was recovering. They said so many people were praying, and it meant the world to them both. “I truly believe she is alive today because of the prayers of the community and not just our community but other towns and friends and places,” said Ginny. Because Ginny is a widow, she has a deacon, Tim Gillis, assigned to her by her church, and he asked her what he could do to help her during that time. She told him she could not mow her grass, and he and a friend came and mowed her grass for her.

One of Ginny’s dogs had an eye infection, and Ginny was unable to take care of him because she was back and forth taking care of Melissa. Dr. Randall Mims took the dog in and cared for him for over a month and never charged her a dime.

“People in this town are really good people,” said Melissa.

Both Melissa and Ginny feel it is important for everyone to recognize the signs of septic shock when they come upon it.

Sepsis is extremely dangerous and is a complication to an existing infection. Most people believe it occurs only in hospitals and nursing home type facilities, but as can be seen with Melissa’s story, that is not always the case.

Sepsis does not appear on its own. It always comes after an infection of some type, usually pneumonia, a kidney infection, skin infections or infections of the digestive system. Older adults are more likely to develop sepsis, but Melissa is not an older adult. It can happen to anyone.

Sepsis has many symptoms, but these are the most common and should be taken very seriously in anyone who already has an infection:
• Sweaty skin,
• Disorientation,
• Shivering,
• High heart rate,
• Extreme pain, and
• Shortness of breath.

Septic shock is characterized by these symptoms:
• Low blood pressure,
• Pale and cool arms and legs,
• Chills,
• Difficulty in breathing,
• Decreased urine output,
• Confusion,
• Dizziness, and
• Bluish discoloration of the digits or lips (cyanosis).

If you or someone you love has these symptoms after an infection, seek medical help immediately.

For more information about sepsis, visit sepsis.org or call 619-232-0300 or email info@sepsis.org. The Sepsis Alliance seeks to help survivors and their loved ones.

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