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Blood Infection Runs Amok
Suddenly out of nowhere on March 28th, Sean was deathly ill. It happened in a moment. No onset, no warnings. He was diagnosed with Influenza. Sean spent the next few days in bed somewhat delirious. Four days later, on Easter Sunday, he went to the ER. Sean was getting worse. They packed five IVs full of fluid and four antibiotics into him immediately. It did not look good.
It was finally determined Sean did not have the flu at all, he had a massive Blood infection. The infectious disease doctor reached out to the Minute Clinic and discovered Sean had swabbed negative; since he was presenting symptoms, she diagnosed it as the flu. It was later determined through days of blood cultures, the blood infection was Staph and could have been acquired by something as insignificant as an untreated (no antibacterial ointment) paper cut! The Staph infection settled primarily in Sean’s heart where he already has a heart defect (VSD) and in the valves. The infection also led to kidney failure, liver failure, retaining up to 70lbs of fluids, anxiety, fever, hallucinations, sleep deprivation, body rashes, breathing difficulty, and more. He was in bad shape. Doctors and nurses continue to comment on the rarity of his survival. The odds were NOT in his favor! Against all odds and through diligent care of about 12 specialists from all fields, Sean SURVIVED!
Entering week three, Sean’s medical adventure has changed its path from survival (achieved) to the medical aftermath of his recovery and the struggle to THRIVE with no income, no sick time, and no disability pay. Home and living expenses persist while new and unplanned medical expenses accumulate. Recovery includes dialysis, eight weeks of IV antibiotics, renal diet, blood and platelet transfusions, physical therapy, rehab at Mercy (His muscles have degenerated significantly and he is working hard to improve the number of steps he can sustain before he becomes too exhausted to walk. The other day he did 12 with the walker assisting.) and lastly future open-heart surgery to repair the VSD so this does not happen again.
How can we help Sean? While Sean and Shan appreciate the love and support given to them over the past two weeks, it is time to move to the next step of helping. Although difficult to ask, they need help financially.
Ways you can help:
1. Donate to Sean’s GoFundMe account: Sean Survived! Help him Thrive!
2. Put antibacterial ointment on all cuts and scrapes!
3. Sign-up for meals on mealtrain.com. Since we don’t know when Sean will be home from the hospital and rehab, we can’t set up his Meal Train calendar yet. In the interim, you can send your email address to this GoFundMe account messaging.
4. Share Sean’s story: Sean Survived! Help him Thrive!
5. Prayers and healing thoughts
Thank you for your support! The Sullivans find themselves lucky to have you
Suddenly out of nowhere on March 28th, Sean was deathly ill. It happened in a moment. No onset, no warnings. He was diagnosed with Influenza. Sean spent the next few days in bed somewhat delirious. Four days later, on Easter Sunday, he went to the ER. Sean was getting worse. They packed five IVs full of fluid and four antibiotics into him immediately. It did not look good.
It was finally determined Sean did not have the flu at all, he had a massive Blood infection. The infectious disease doctor reached out to the Minute Clinic and discovered Sean had swabbed negative; since he was presenting symptoms, she diagnosed it as the flu. It was later determined through days of blood cultures, the blood infection was Staph and could have been acquired by something as insignificant as an untreated (no antibacterial ointment) paper cut! The Staph infection settled primarily in Sean’s heart where he already has a heart defect (VSD) and in the valves. The infection also led to kidney failure, liver failure, retaining up to 70lbs of fluids, anxiety, fever, hallucinations, sleep deprivation, body rashes, breathing difficulty, and more. He was in bad shape. Doctors and nurses continue to comment on the rarity of his survival. The odds were NOT in his favor! Against all odds and through diligent care of about 12 specialists from all fields, Sean SURVIVED!
Entering week three, Sean’s medical adventure has changed its path from survival (achieved) to the medical aftermath of his recovery and the struggle to THRIVE with no income, no sick time, and no disability pay. Home and living expenses persist while new and unplanned medical expenses accumulate. Recovery includes dialysis, eight weeks of IV antibiotics, renal diet, blood and platelet transfusions, physical therapy, rehab at Mercy (His muscles have degenerated significantly and he is working hard to improve the number of steps he can sustain before he becomes too exhausted to walk. The other day he did 12 with the walker assisting.) and lastly future open-heart surgery to repair the VSD so this does not happen again.
How can we help Sean? While Sean and Shan appreciate the love and support given to them over the past two weeks, it is time to move to the next step of helping. Although difficult to ask, they need help financially.
Ways you can help:
1. Donate to Sean’s GoFundMe account: Sean Survived! Help him Thrive!
2. Put antibacterial ointment on all cuts and scrapes!
3. Sign-up for meals on mealtrain.com. Since we don’t know when Sean will be home from the hospital and rehab, we can’t set up his Meal Train calendar yet. In the interim, you can send your email address to this GoFundMe account messaging.
4. Share Sean’s story: Sean Survived! Help him Thrive!
5. Prayers and healing thoughts
Thank you for your support! The Sullivans find themselves lucky to have you
Co-organizers5
Shan Sullivan
Beneficiary