A Virginia Beach mother who nearly died from sepsis is sharing her story to raise awareness after mistaking her symptoms for the flu.
In 2015, Audrey Wiggins, then 31, thought she had the flu. But her condition quickly spiraled into severe sepsis, leaving her in the ICU for 10 days, five of them in a medically induced coma.
"I had never actually had the flu before, but I was achy, feverish and cold. And so I thought, this seems like the flu," she said.
Her fever spiked, she developed stomach issues, and her right elbow and left big toe began hurting for no reason. When she became too weak to care for her sons and had nosebleeds, a friend insisted she see a doctor.
At urgent care, her temperature and heart rate were abnormally high, and her blood pressure was dangerously low. She was rushed to the ER and eventually diagnosed with sepsis.
"They took a very long time to figure out what was wrong with me," she said, noting doctors initially suspected autoimmune diseases.
Sepsis is a life-threatening inflammatory response to infection. It can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death if not treated quickly. Every hour delay increases mortality by up to 8%.
Wiggins suffered acute respiratory distress syndrome and had to relearn how to walk. She started the Begin Again Foundation to help others facing sepsis and wrote a children's book, "Katie Koala's Biggest Bite," to teach families warning signs.
"If I had known what the symptoms were, I would have sought treatment earlier," she said. Her advice to parents: ask the doctor, "Could this be sepsis?" Sepsis can stem from any infection, including cuts, strep throat, or the flu.