“Sepsis “sneaked up on me”…I would say, please learn about sepsis – for the ones who fought hard but also where sepsis won the battle.”
I am Saylee Sangle-Stevens. I am 32 years old, working with a financial Investment organization. I came to the United States in 2017 for work and found love and ended up settling here with my husband Martin Stevens in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. I love to travel and ski and those are our shared interest for vacations. I play chess in my free time and I like doing arts and crafts. I also really enjoy the festival season as we get to celebrate both Christan and Hindu festivals. The more festivals the better!
I got pregnant again after the birth of my Son Noah Jay Stevens (Angel Baby) who was born prematurely at 20 weeks. With this latest pregnancy I was already at high risk, and I was mostly on recommended rest. Tragically we learned we had a missed miscarriage, and I started miscarrying on February 12th, 2024. A subsequent check-up showed that I had retained tissue which meant that doctors had to perform a D&C on February 13th. Post-surgery I was doing well until the next morning – February 14th – at 7am when I started shivering. I took hot showers and the prescribed pain medications and tried to brush it off. But I soon developed stabbing pain which the medication was not touching. My heart started racing and I felt feverish. I reached out to my OB-GYN to check whether this was standard or whether I needed to stop by the hospital to get it looked at. My OB-GYN office didn’t open until 9 a.m., so I tried to brush off my symptoms in the meantime. I let my parents handle their own packing, as they were leaving the next day, and insisted that Martin not take the day off. Around 9am, I received a message and a call from my OB-GYN, instructing me to go to the ER. They didn’t give any details, and I was naïve enough to think it wasn’t serious, so I went alone, believing I’d be back within a couple of hours.
By then, my heart rate was already in the high 140s, and it had been nearly two and a half hours since the symptoms first began. I drove myself to the ER, which was about 25 minutes away. But when I arrived, I became disoriented in the parking lot, started having difficulty breathing, and developed a fever. I asked the front desk staff to help me get to the ER building, as I’d parked in the wrong lot and knew I couldn’t go any farther—I was really struggling to breathe
When I was taken to the ER, I was checked in quickly. The nurse was concerned by my symptoms: my blood pressure was low, my heart rate was high, and I had a fever along with stabbing pain. Given my elevated heart rate, they moved me to the Cardiac Ward for more tests, including blood work, a urine culture, and an ultrasound. I was confused and kept calling my family to tell them not to worry, saying I’d be home by noon or at least by the evening. They gave me IV medication for pain, though my memory of this time is very hazy.
During my confusion, I managed to call the airline to delay my parents’ flight and let my in-laws know I’d been admitted, still insisting to everyone that they shouldn’t worry. My bloodwork showed signs of infection, with a positive UTI result, retained tissue in my uterus, and indications of infection. However, the exact cause of my infection was still unclear, as blood cultures take time to process. My mother-in-law, who works in healthcare, suspected something serious. She rallied the family, and my in-laws drove my parents to the hospital. By now, my heart rate was climbing to the 150s, yet I was still optimistic, thinking I’d be home that evening.
The doctors explained that the retained tissue might have spread the infection into my bloodstream, though they couldn’t be certain yet. They decided to perform a procedure to clear my uterus, but it was risky; my heart rate needed to stabilize around 120 bpm before they could proceed. The surgery was scheduled for 4pm, but until then my heart rate remained unstable. I was delusional, asking for my brother, who was in India, and talking about my son, Noah, as though he was in the room. I was under heavy medication and shaking uncontrollably, even with multiple warm blankets to manage my chills.
Around 3:45pm, despite my heart rate only stabilizing to the 130s, my doctors decided to move forward with the procedure. In the operating room, my OB-GYN told me, “Saylee, you are very, very sick. I’m worried for you. I can see retained tissue, but you may also have a ruptured appendix. We’re hoping the uterine procedure will stabilize your heart rate, but you are very, very sick.” I had a gut feeling that things were serious. As I was given anaesthesia, I remember thinking, “If this is my last moment, I want to give Martin one last kiss.” I didn’t want him to worry, so I told him, “Look, I’m strong,” showing him a brave face. “Don’t worry—I’ll be back. Don’t cry.” And then, I was wheeled into the operating room.
After the surgery, I began to show some improvement. My heart rate wasn’t climbing anymore and was now in the 140-150 range. I had no idea that I was suffering from sepsis. The following week in the hospital is a blur, but as I later pieced things together, I realized that I had missed several warning signs on February 14th:
- Racing heart rate
- Shortness of breath
- Stabbing pain
- Confusion: leaving the garage door open, recalling only a sign along my route to the ER, driving to the wrong part of the hospital, asking the nurse to call my mother-in-law, talking to Noah about staying with his daddy, and asking repeatedly about my brother, sending messages to my coworkers, filled with typos and slurred words, promising to be available the next day.
In the days that followed, doctors finally had answers: I had sepsis caused by E. coli in my bloodstream. There was no concrete answer on how it started, but as well as the E. coli infection, I had a UTI and infection in my uterus and had lost significant blood due to the miscarriage. They were considering a blood transfusion if I lost any more blood. I was in the hospital for a week to monitor the infection, my blood loss, and especially my heart. After being discharged, I spent 15 days under my family’s care, on medication, with follow-up appointments.
I fought sepsis without even knowing what it was. Looking through my medical records later, I started to understand what had happened. I barely remember that week in the hospital, and I had never heard of sepsis until I was in recovery.
My whole family was deeply affected. My parents didn’t know too much due to the language barrier but when they realised what had happened they were – and still are – worried. The biggest impact of what happened was on Martin though – he was traumatised. Once I came home he would check my heart rate in the middle of the night and check whether I was still breathing and check my heart rate. Everyone had sleepless nights worrying and praying for my recovery. It was some miracle that saved me.
I spent a week at the Baylor Scott & White medical centre in Grapevine, Texas where I received care. I am still receiving treatment for post-sepsis condition -chronic urticaria which triggered post sepsis and on-going condition. There is no estimated timeline how long the condition can take.
Throughout all of this Martin, my parents Anita and Devidas Sangle, my brother Rushi and my in-laws Lori and Scott have been a huge support, encouraging me and keeping me strong. They were all praying constantly for my safety and recovery. They kept me strong and have encouraged me to fight harder.
I was not aware of sepsis when I was diagnosed, I didn’t really understand the severity for long time and now I wish I had known what sepsis meant and the signs to look out for. It would be so helpful if there was better education and knowledge, based around all the different areas of medicine such as UTI’s, infection, post-surgery, pregnancy etc. I feel it was very important to get the help in time.
“TIME is the KEY for sepsis. Every hour and every minute counts in sepsis.”
I hadn’t heard about Sepsis Research FEAT before I got sepsis. I am really glad that it does the work it does as there needs to be more awareness of sepsis. We can save more lives if we spread awareness. Sepsis is not well discussed and is not been addressed enough as the severe condition that it is.
I am here to tell my story so that others don’t have to be uninformed about sepsis. To explain how sepsis “sneaked up on me” because there are so many others who tragically aren’t with us to tell their stories and share their experiences. I would say please learn about sepsis – for the ones who fought hard but where sepsis won the battle. Five minutes of reading about sepsis might save the life of a loved one in an emergency.
Charity comment:
Saylee’s story reiterates a message that we hear so often at Sepsis Research FEAT – that survivors, and those who have lost a loved one to sepsis, wish that they had known more about sepsis and what to look out for before it happened.
Her account highlights the importance of the work of organisations such as this one, who raise awareness of sepsis. But she is also keen to encourage people to educate themselves about the condition – understanding the signs could potentially save lives.
Like many other Saylee also didn’t recognise the severity of her condition initially and she rightly stresses the importance of timely medical intervention in treating sepsis. Sepsis has left her with an ongoing medical condition, as it does for around 100,000 sepsis patients in the UK every year.
To ensure that you are properly aware of what sepsis is and what to look out for, visit our sepsis awareness pages here or follow @sepsisresearch on social media including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok