Doctors thought she had the stomach flu. But it was near-fatal sepsis

In 2011, Shannon McKenney, a singer from Burnaby, B.C., experienced a sudden and severe illness during a dinner party.

Initially suspecting food poisoning, she visited the emergency room with intense pain and nausea but was diagnosed with the stomach flu and sent home. However, when her appendix ruptured days later, her condition took a dangerous turn. Although she survived, her health has never fully recovered.

Doctors initially attributed her ongoing symptoms to complications from her appendix. It wasn’t until later that McKenney discovered she had been battling sepsis, a hidden and serious condition. “I thought, ‘OK, I’m a young, healthy woman. I’m going to recover. It was just a ruptured appendix, no big deal,'” McKenney told Global News. “But that was the beginning of 13 years of recovery from sepsis.”

What is sepsis?

Sepsis is a critical condition that arises when the body’s response to an infection damages its own tissues and organs. Also known as septicemia or “blood poisoning,” it is primarily caused by bacterial infections but can also result from viruses or fungi, according to the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sepsis can develop rapidly, often within hours if untreated, potentially leading to shock, multi-organ failure, and death if not recognized and treated promptly. With nearly 50 million cases and 11 million deaths worldwide each year, sepsis represents a major health crisis. Despite its prevalence, quick and accurate diagnosis remains challenging.

In Canada, sepsis accounts for one in 18 deaths, making it the 12th leading cause of death nationally, according to the Canadian Sepsis Foundation. The condition can affect anyone, regardless of age, and often requires ICU care, placing a significant burden on the healthcare system. The annual cost of treating sepsis in Canada is $325 million. Although diagnostic and treatment methods are improving, the foundation notes that rates of sepsis are still rising.

Early symptoms of sepsis can mimic those of other common illnesses, such as fever, rapid breathing, and a fast heart rate. These symptoms can be easily mistaken for other conditions, making early diagnosis difficult, as noted by Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Treatment for sepsis involves urgent medical care, including antimicrobials, intravenous fluids, and other supportive measures. Even if patients survive, sepsis can lead to long-term health issues that may persist for years.

What can happen with sepsis?

McKenney’s initial sign that something was amiss came when she did not recover as expected. She experienced persistent pain and difficulty eating. Over the next two years, she frequently visited the hospital for severe discomfort. In 2013, she was admitted again due to intense pain from her gallbladder and developed another infection that led to sepsis. Despite this, doctors could not determine the cause of her illness at the time.

“My hair fell out. My toenails fell off. It was pretty bad,” McKenney recounted. “However, they didn’t call it sepsis that time,” she added. She was weak, struggled to stand, and spent 18 days in the hospital over Christmas and New Year. Despite her hospital stay, recovery was challenging, and doctors remained puzzled by her condition.

In July 2019, sepsis returned for the third time, triggered by the flu and possibly something contracted from a plane. This time, doctors diagnosed her with sepsis and confirmed that she had suffered from it during her previous hospitalizations as well. “That’s when all the dots started connecting,” she said.

McKenney believes she was misdiagnosed for over a decade due to the difficulties in diagnosing sepsis.

McKenney continues to deal with the long-term effects of sepsis, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, and fatigue. She is concerned that she may never return to work. “I’ve had a migraine for six years — it’s unrelenting. Now, I struggle with memory recall and ongoing gastric issues from the trauma to my abdomen,” she said. Her singing, once her passion, has also been affected.

Canadian researcher sparks hope

While there is currently no cure for sepsis, Dr. Claudia dos Santos, a critical care clinician-scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, is working on life-saving treatments for the condition.

“Sepsis is treated in two ways. The first is with antimicrobials, such as antibiotics, antiviral, or antifungal medications that target the invading organisms. The second is providing support, such as fluid resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and dialysis,” she explained. “However, these treatments don’t address the underlying issue of immune dysregulation.”

Dr. dos Santos is developing a new treatment that aims to block inflammation, enhance white blood cells' ability to combat bacteria, and prevent heart and lung failure. She is preparing to test this innovative approach in preclinical trials. “We have found that very small molecules can be used to address immune dysregulation,” she said. “We’re encapsulating these molecules in nanoparticles to deliver them inside cells, helping the immune system fight infection while minimizing damage to other cells.”

Her research is entering safety studies, and dos Santos noted that it has been 15 years in development. “We plan to complete our safety studies over the next year and submit the data to Health Canada. Once we receive approval, we hope to begin human trials within the next year,” she said.