A Canadian teen is reaching audiences around the world with powerful social media videos showing life without hands and feet – the price she paid after developing sepsis.
"I think I want them to know that it's more common than people think, ... that any kind of infection can turn septic," said 19-year-old Amalie Henze.The high school student in Brantford Ont. began feeling ill in October of 2023. She initially thought it was linked to her Crohn's disease - an inflammatory bowel disease that causes the digestive tract to become swollen and irritated.
The result was a dangerous fight between the bacterial infection and the body's immune response. If the immune system overreacts, it can damage the kidney, liver, heart and brain. The patient's blood pressure can drop, starving tissues for blood and oxygen. Sepsis is a medical emergency. "It makes me feel like there's a reason that all this happened to me, and it's kind of turning a tragedy into something more beautiful," Amalie added."I don't want other people to have to go through what happened to me.""I think that we don't hear enough from young sepsis survivors about the impact on their life, their health," said Dr. Alison Fox Robichaud, a critical care physician and scientific director of Sepsis Canada.
"There’s been a lot of rough days, absolutely, for all of us," said her mother."Seeing her getting stronger and really fighting for being more independent, that's great."Many people have never heard of sepsis or know what it can do. Some know it by an older term:"blood poisoning.” That's because there are many common triggers, including the flu, COVID, RSV, and even small skin wounds - like a paper cut - that become infected, which can cause a septic reaction.At highest risk are children and seniors, and those with chronic illnesses like diabetes, arthritis, asthma, and cancer, though she says anyone can be affected. Prompt treatment, either by cleaning wounds or with antibiotics, helps.
Like Amalie, he had both legs and feet amputated. He's now become a vocal advocate of sepsis awareness, telling the U.K. paper The Independent he plans to push for faster diagnosis so that “the health service recognizes sepsis at the earliest opportunity." An amputee and his son with cerebral palsy were among the 11 deaths in the fires raging around Los Angeles. The father was found at his son’s bedside.A group of good Samaritans teamed up with law enforcement this week to save an elderly woman pinned underneath her car in Lawerence, Mass.The marquee at The Penthouse strip club in downtown Vancouver is known for its edgy comments on politics and pop culture.
No 'water system in the world' could have handled the L.A. fires. How the region could have minimized the damage The players and coaches tasked with separating football from real life are finding it difficult, but they are determined to meet the challenges on all fronts when they “host” the Minnesota Vikings at the Cardinals' State Farm Stadium on Monday night.Automakers pulled out all the stops to showcase their latest advances for in-vehicle experiences at CES, the Consumer Technology Association’s annual trade show of all things tech, in Las Vegas this week.
Hayley and Bill Atkinson’s love story begins that night he abruptly left in the middle of playing a card game with friends, and didn’t return for a long time.Though it has been nearly five decades since Elvis' death, his music and influence continue to inspire fans around the world, including tribute artist Thane Dunn of Moncton, N.B.A single lot in Delta, B.C.
Alberta RCMP are asking people to avoid travel Saturday due to poor driving conditions in areas across Central and Northern Alberta.While many of the germs that cause this misery can circulate throughout the year, scientists think that the winter surge of flu and cold activity may be because we spend more time indoors and the cold, dry air may weaken our defences.Animal Shelter in New Brunswick closes after 18 yearsOxford, N.S.
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