Benny Z.

Back in 2016, we almost lost Benny. 

That experience changed my life forever. I was always that chill easygoing parent when my kids got sick. In 2016, that changed.

Story time: Benny wakes up one morning crying hysterically that his foot hurts. We thought he was just joking or playing us (Benny’s always been a big joker) so we sent him off to school and a few hours later we got a call to come get him that he was crying uncontrollably and couldn’t walk.

Fast forward, we rushed him to the hospital and something we thought was so small and trivial turned into a life/death situation. Benny had developed Group A Strep that had somehow travelled through his bloodstream which turned into Sepsis and appeared in his left foot bone. He went in for emergency surgery and at one point, we were quickly ushered out of the room as doctors/nurses and staff rushed in all at the same time! Loud beeping noises and a call on the intercom to the entire hospital, and I fell to my knees.

Honestly, this was the SCARIEST time of our lives. Benny spent many many nights in hospital and an additional 31 days attached to a PICC line (that he received through another procedure after being transferred via ambulance to Sick Kids) to receive his antibiotics. With the help of nurses and a rehabilitation team, he had to learn how to walk again. Those nights/days/months were terrifying for him and for us. I prayed a ton, leaned on family and friends and thought why him? Why us?

Benny is a Sepsis survivor and not all children who develop Group A Strep survive. In fact, 20% die and the others commonly lose limbs. Thank you once again to @northyorkgeneral for saving my son and for all the post care on the 5th floor. I’m forever grateful that today and everyday I get to hold my son and that his laughter fills our house.

Thanks for listening! 

How to recognize life-threatening sepsis symptoms (ctvnews.ca)