A Virginia Beach mom nearly died of sepsis, now she’s fighting to raise awareness

After NASCAR star Kyle Busch died of sepsis, a Virginia Beach mother who nearly lost her life to the fatal condition is sharing her shocking experience to raise awareness.

In 2015, Audrey Wiggins was a healthy 31-year-old when she thought she was going to come down with the flu. Instead, her condition turned into a serious case of sepsis that left her in the ICU for 10 days, including five days in a medically induced coma.

Now recovered, Wiggins – who is married to professional golfer Marc Leishman – has dedicated herself to raising awareness of the condition through her non-profit organization, the Begin Again Foundation. He has also written a children’s book aimed at helping families recognize the warning signs.

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A sudden descent

Wiggins’ ordeal began when she became ill one evening while caring for her sons, then 19 months and 3 years old, while her husband was on a trip.

“I had never had a cold before, but I was sore, cold and cold. So I thought, this looks like the flu,” he told Fox News Digital during an on-camera interview.

As the days went on, Wiggins began to feel worse. His fever became severe and he developed severe stomach problems.

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“At one point, I actually thought I was going to go a little crazy, because my right elbow and left toe started hurting – it was very random. I hadn’t hurt myself,” he said. “I was really confused as to what was going on.”

When Wiggins became too weak to care for her sons and started bleeding from the nose, her friend insisted she see a doctor.

In emergency care, Wiggins’ temperature and pulse were abnormally high, and his blood pressure was dangerously low. He was taken by ambulance to the emergency room.

“I was a very sick person.”

While today’s hospitals have “come a long way” in sepsis awareness and recognition, Wiggins noted that was not the case in 2015.

“It took them a long time to find out what was going on with me,” he said, adding that the doctors initially thought he was suffering from physical diseases.

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“They kept checking me for different things. Finally, they accepted me, and I stayed in the ICU for 10 days in total – five of which I was in a medically induced coma.”

The sepsis eventually turned into acute respiratory distress syndrome.

“I remember a lot of not being able to breathe,” Wiggins recalled. “That was the scariest part. It got to the point where I had to pause between every word to catch my breath, and it was actually like taking a breath.”

Now recovered, Wiggins is dedicated to raising awareness of the condition through her nonprofit organization. (Audrey Leishman)

At one point, he later learned, there was a “good chance” he wouldn’t wake up from the coma.

“When I finally woke up, it was a process of relearning how to walk again, dealing with home treatments and being on a PICC (central catheter) line,” Wiggins said.

The first year of recovery was “very difficult,” she said. “My immune system was so weak that I was sick all the time.”

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Today, Wiggins says he is healthy, but that his memory is “not what it used to be” and that he often gets tired.

She said the initial cause of her sepsis is still unclear, but may be linked to her recent IUD removal.

“I was diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome, but I also had tonsillitis, strep throat, a UTI and pneumonia,” she said. “I was a very sick person.”

What you need to know about sepsis

In severe cases, the infection can spread to the bloodstream, causing a widespread, life-threatening inflammatory response called sepsis.

It can quickly lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death if not treated right away, according to Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel.

“The body responds by making inflammatory chemicals. The immune system is stimulating … but it can do more harm than good,” he previously told Fox News Digital.

“When I finally woke up, it was a process of relearning how to walk again, dealing with home treatments and being on a PICC (central catheter) line,” Wiggins said. (Audrey Leishman)

Wiggins explained the answer with an analogy: “Instead of your body sending out Navy SEALs, you send out the entire US Armed Forces.”

As sepsis worsens, it can cause a drop in blood pressure and interfere with the delivery of oxygen to body tissues, which can lead to lactic acidosis – a dangerous build-up of lactic acid in the blood.

“Instead of your body sending in Navy SEALs, you send in the entire US Armed Forces.”

Organ failure is a major risk, especially affecting the kidneys, Siegel warns.

“Kidneys fail, toxins from the kidneys increase, blood pressure drops, fever rises, lungs fail—something called ARDS,” he said.

“At a time when people are struggling, if I can help ease that burden – even a little bit, so they can focus more on recovery – it’s my absolute love and honor to continue to do that.” (Audrey Leishman)

ARDS – acute respiratory distress syndrome – occurs when inflammation causes fluid to build up in the lungs, making it difficult for oxygen to reach the blood.

Common warning signs of sepsis can include high fever, confusion, rapid breathing, severe weakness, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat and green or blotchy skin, according to the CDC. Patients can also feel very cold and experience severe pain, Wiggins added.

Turning survival into a goal

After Wiggins was released from the hospital, he was struck by how little people knew about sepsis, which led him to start the Begin Again Foundation.

“I had never heard of sepsis – and I realized that’s why I almost died,” she said. “If I had known what the symptoms were and what to look for, I would have sought treatment earlier.”

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Expensive medical expenses — for everything from home health care to antibiotics to walkers and other equipment — were also alarming. “I learned that sepsis is the most expensive hospital bill,” Wiggins said. “I remember thinking, ‘What if we didn’t have the money to pay for this?’

For every hour that sepsis goes untreated, the death rate increases by up to 8%, Wiggins noted. (Stock)

“At a time when people are struggling, if I can help ease that burden – even a little bit, so they can focus more on recovery – it’s my absolute love and honor to continue to do that. And that’s the main focus of the organization.”

Wiggins’ children’s book, “Katie Koala’s Biggest Bite,” centers on a girl who gets injured and becomes ill, and her mother rushes her to a doctor to catch sepsis before it becomes life-threatening.

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“My intention with this book is that it will be in the hands of both the little ones and the big hands of their parents… and that by reading this story, they will learn what sepsis is and what symptoms to look for,” she said.

“I have read many stories of parents who seek treatment, who take their child to the doctor, and are told that it is just a virus.

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Wiggins said the easiest thing parents can do is ask the doctor: “Could this be sepsis?”

“Just asking that question can lead them to use a different lab panel or look at symptoms in a different way,” he added.

“I have read many stories of parents who took their child to the doctor and were told it was just a virus.”

For every hour that sepsis goes untreated, the death rate increases by up to 8%, Wiggins noted.

“Time is of the essence – and getting that treatment early can prevent you from being hospitalized.”

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One of the most important things people should know, according to Wiggins, is that sepsis can occur with any infection.

“The most common causes are respiratory infections, UTIs and kidney stones, but it can happen with a cut. It can happen with strep throat, the flu,” he warned.