A high school teacher had to have her hands and feet amputated after what appeared to be a normal throat infection led to sepsis.
Sherri Moody, 51, of Texas, suffered double pneumonia after strep throat bacteria traveled to both of her lungs.
When his organs began to fail, his immune system went into overdrive, attacking healthy tissues and preventing blood from reaching his extremities.
Now, she says she is “choosing to be happy” as she learns to get around in a wheelchair and waits for prosthetics with the support of her husband, David.
“She’s just amazing,” he said. Today.com.
Ms. Moody’s nightmare began in April 2023, while she was on a school trip when she noticed her throat itchy and assumed she had caught a cold.
Texas high school teacher Sherri Moody, 51, thought she simply had a cold when her symptoms rapidly worsened. She was eventually diagnosed with double pneumonia, which caused sepsis. They had to amputate his arms below the elbow and his legs above her knee.
Mrs Moody spent four months in hospital and a month in rehabilitation after having her limbs amputated.
But his symptoms quickly worsened. Within a few days, she was fatigued, vomiting, and had a high fever, which later turned into difficulty breathing.
Gasping for air and unable to sleep, Mrs. Moody woke her husband, David, in the middle of the night and urged him to take her to the hospital.
He suffered from double pneumonia, an infection that affects both lungs and is caused by the Streptococcus bacteria. This bacteria often causes strep throat, which can lead to pneumonia.
This led to sepsis, a severe and life-threatening reaction of the body to an infection that is responsible for one in three deaths in US hospitals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“I realized very quickly that we were in a serious situation,” Moody said.. “He was scared to death.”
Two days after Ms. Moody went to the emergency room, her lungs and kidneys began to fail and her blood pressure dropped rapidly.
Doctors placed her in an induced coma and prescribed medications such as vasopressors, which combat dangerously low blood pressure by pushing blood toward vital organs.
However, this caused poor circulation, which reduced blood flow to his extremities. Moody said that within days, his wife’s limbs began to change color.
“I literally watched my wife’s feet and hands die,” he said. “They were black and mummified.”
In June 2023, Ms. Moody had her legs amputated below the knee and, a month later, her arms were amputated below the elbow.
Sepsis is a medical emergency that health experts call a “silent killer.” It is caused by the body’s extreme reaction to an infection.
Sepsis occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream cause the immune system to go haywire.
Instead of sending infection-fighting white blood cells to attack a foreign invader, it targets healthy tissues and organs.
Infections that cause sepsis usually start in the lungs, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract, but almost any infection can cause sepsis, even things as innocuous as paper cuts.
“I realized very quickly that we were in a serious situation,” Mrs. Moody’s husband, David, told Today.com. “He was scared to death.”
“I’m very strong mentally,” Ms. Moody told Today.com. ‘I just choose to be happy. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have a breakdown from time to time and just cry a little. I don’t let it last long.
The symptoms can closely resemble those of the flu, making it extremely difficult to detect early.
There is no single test for sepsis, but doctors look for signs of infection with measures such as blood tests.
Sepsis can progress to septic shock, which is characterized by a severe drop in blood pressure.
Signs of septic shock, according to the Mayo Clinic, include not being able to stand, extreme fatigue or not being able to stay awake, and a significant change in mental status.
The CDC recommends getting help right away if you have signs of sepsis. If left untreated, sepsis and septic shock are fatal.
Sepsis affects 1.7 million Americans each year, according to the CDC, and kills 350,000 a year.
Certain groups are more susceptible to sepsis, including adults 65 years of age and older, children under one year of age, patients with weakened immune systems, and those who have had sepsis in the past. However, anyone can achieve it.
And, if a person recovers from sepsis, they are more likely to have long-lasting health problems.
A study in Journal of the American Heart Association found that people hospitalized for sepsis or who had it after hospitalization were 38 percent more likely to be hospitalized again for any cause.
This included a 43 percent increase in the risk of heart problems.
Before her diagnosis, Ms. Moody told Today.com that she had never been to the emergency room and lived a healthy lifestyle, including exercising five days a week and eating a balanced diet.
He spent four months in the hospital and one month in a rehabilitation center learning to cope with the loss of his limbs.
Ms. Moody uses an electric wheelchair to get around while she waits to be fitted with prosthetics. She also has to wear a band on her arm to hold a fork so she can eat.
Next on your treatment plan is surgery to repair gangrene (dead tissue caused by infection or lack of blood flow) problems in your kneecaps. If this fails, doctors will have to amputate him above the knees.
Although she struggles with frustration at losing so much independence, Ms. Moody said she tries to stay positive.
“I’m very strong mentally,” he said. “I just choose to be happy.”
‘It doesn’t mean that I don’t have a nervous breakdown from time to time and just cry a little. I don’t let it last long.