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myself and my wife took care of her for as long as we could, then i put her in a nursing home she was 79 when she passed. prior to the uti she had an infection in her finger from which her finger had swollen and the ring had to be cut off,she also had a uti then

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Yes I can relate. My mom died from sepsis of an unknown etology, pulmonary hypertension, and four emboli in her lungs and a dvt in her left leg. The dr said he thought a uti caused the sepsis and for every answer to fix it the answer created another problem. Sepsis requies fluids meanwhile pulmonary hypertension requies lasics then the emboli could have been treated with Coumadin but she had a rectal bleed of some sort. It's hard and I did initially feel that I should have recognized something however sepsis is fast and by the time one recognizes what it is it's a tough road and some don't make it. My mom had just been to the dr a week before so I know she was getting good care. The whole breathing problem didn't start until she was in the hospital for the sepsis. Awful just wakeful. I know in my heart that her suffering is over and that her not hanging on for months and months in pain trying to breath was a blessing in disguise still every day I wonder could I have done something different I don't know. What I do know is mom didn't die alone in a nursing home or hospital by herself. She was a nurse and she always told me a persons biggest fear is to die alone. I have a peace of mind knowing I talked to her the whole time she was leaving and that she honored me by letting me be there.
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A lady I cared for had a UTI and was very combative.... she ended up breaking my leg in one of her violent episodes... I had told the family many times before this, I felt she had a UTI... long story short, they put her in a NH, she was treated for 'behavioral problems' and was never checked until it was too late , for a UTI... they sent her home with Hospice, she died three days later... so yes, UTI's can be very serious..... and like someone else mentioned, I will always be haunted by, is there more i could have done,,,, yes I had a broken leg, no , the family would not listen, I was only the 'caregiver', but I know she is in perfect peace and that always helps my heart to heal... so sorry for your loss....
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So very sorry for the loss of your mom. I have heard that Uti's can be very dangerous if they get that bad. If she was in a nursing home then I don't understand why they didn't know, or have her on antibiotics? I do believe uti's can be more difficult for elders to endure without treatment. Plus you said she had this infection multiple times. Praying you are getting along o.k. during this difficult time. It's very important that we all take the best care of our health as possible. It goes to show that some conditions considered "routine" to happen every now & then can get out of control if not treated properly for right amount of time. Again, so very sorry.
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William firstly so sorry your mum has passed on xx Urosepsis is pretty nasty and comes on very very quickly - in Mums case about 6 hours and bang she was in hospital for 5 weeks. She was a bit flushed but it was during a hot spell so I didn't take much notice - won't do that again. It's really hard to tell in the elderly especially when there may be other underlying infections. Equally once in hospital it is very easy to pick up more damned infections. Don't blame the nursing home - she was perhaps much more ill than the docs had known and they will have only acted under docs orders ...it is all they are allowed to do.
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My aunt died from what we believe was sepsis, following complications from lymphedema. We suspect some of the leg wrapping used to contain the massive swelling from the lymphedema introduced bacteria through the pores in her leg, which were leaking fluid.

My sister once had what, if I remember correctly, was then referred to as a bacterial shower. It occurred about 5 - 10 minutes after a chemo session, caused rapid onset of chills and violent shaking. I'd never seen anything like it; it was frightening. The shaking wasn't just like being cold; it was more like a seizure.

Fortunately, as a nurse she knew what was happening and we hadn't left the infusion center yet so we rushed back in. One of the nurses administered Tylenol, which I thought was interesting under the circumstances. She was wrapped in heavy blankets and after about 1/2 hour began to return to normal, but was still chilled all the way home.

Apparently even a tiny bit of bacteria can get flushed into the body when the tubes are flushed after chemo, and that's how the "showers" occurred.

We knew a man who had a port due to a medical condition which I don't recall; in discussing his condition, he said he had had numerous bacterial showers, I believe from port flushing.

It's been over a decade and these are just the best recollections I have of the condition, so I may be a little bit inaccurate in describing the process of infection.

These rapid infections are frightening.
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I don't have experience with a UTI causing death, I just wanted to express my condolences to you on the loss of your mom.
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Sepsis from a UTI or any infection can happen very rapidly, usually within a few hours and be life threatening even if treatment is started immediately.
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My mother died on June 18th and 97.5. She had a bladder infection for two weeks, and Hospice and I did not figure it out until she went crazy. She then refused medication for three days. It was too late, and a long two weeks of intense pain. At least the last week she was on morphine. Yes, it can happen.
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i want to say thank you for the answers and kind words and may God bless you
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I SCREAM UTI on almost every post. It is a silent killer of the elderly. Symptoms are SLEEPY, CONFUSED, AGITATED, FORGETFULL, WETTING THEMSELVES. However, most people think their Dimentia or Alzheimers is just getting worse. Basically- Elderly sit all the time, they where adult diapers. They get the UTI from this. It exaserbates their Alzheimers or Dimentia symptoms, its over looked and it spreads into the blood stream. I am so sorry for your loss- its not your fault. UTI's are hard to spot and the only way to know them is to really know your parent well enough that you can say "something changed from yesterday". By then- it can even be too late. My mom is currently on an antibiotic for a UTI, but even after 72 hours she is still sleeping 18 hours. Its a crazy bug.
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