A young California man is warning healthy Americans not to ignore alarming symptoms after he was diagnosed with lethal sepsis, despite being ultra-fit.
In late April, Joe DuPont, 28, noticed red blotches dotting his neck, chest, and other parts of his body. At first, Mr DuPont, who is regularly active, assumed that the fast onset rashes were just a normal skin reaction.
But when the spots failed to heal after a day and started oozing, he grew concerned. ‘When I realized that it just wasn’t going away, that’s when I went to the hospital,’ Mr DuPont, who works on the business side of the clinical lab industry, told DailyMail.com.
The worst of it on the left side of his neck was filled with pus and fluid and continued opening up more. On April 29, doctors at the local hospital, however, dismissed the symptoms as anxiety and a skin infection, prescribing steroid cream and oral antibiotics.
It was a critical mistake as, less than 24 hours later, Mr DuPont suffered a life-threatening cardiac event as a result of sepsis, an immune system overreaction that kills one American every 90 seconds.
Joe DuPont, 28, was active and living a healthy lifestyle when his sepsis symptoms started. He now stresses that ‘everybody can go through this’
Mr DuPont experienced a spreading skin rash and fluid buildup. When he experienced a cardiac event, doctors realized he had sepsis
Now, less than two months after the near-death experience and on his way to recovery, Mr DuPont is focused on raising awareness of medical errors and sepsis, which is the leading cause of hospital death in the US.
‘I am incredibly fortunate to come out of this the way I did,’ he said. ‘This happens to so many people. Anybody can go through this.’
Sepsis is responsible for 300,000 deaths in America every year, and occurs when an infection causes a freak overreaction of the immune system, making chemicals in the bloodstream go haywire.
Instead of sending infection-fighting white blood cells to attack a foreign invader, it targets healthy tissues and organs such as the limbs and the lungs and kidneys, leading to organ failure and, at times, amputations.
Yet, a third of Americans have never heard of it, and every hour that treatment is delayed, the chance of death increases by four to nine percent.
Mr DuPont noted that while he did tell doctors he was feeling a bit anxious, he was surprised that was part of the main diagnosis.
At home, shortly after his symptoms were dismissed by physicians, Mr DuPont’s legs started shaking and spasming. ‘I took it as a sign that maybe my body was healing,’ he said.
But by the next morning, ‘I woke up in much worse shape and just felt completely different.’
‘When I stood up, I felt fluid rush to my legs, like fluid was literally collecting in my sandals. I realized, “I need to go back to the ER.”‘
On the way there, Mr DuPont’s heart started pounding amid intense chest pain, and he began losing vision, experiencing a fever, and feeling fluid disperse throughout his body. When he finally got there, he felt so weak that he could hardly walk to the triage area.
An EKG revealed irregular heart beats, and fluid was collecting around his heart.
He soon suffered a severe cardiac event, with his heart rate spiking and then plummeting down to the 30s. A normal resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
‘It was close,’ he said. ‘I pretty much pulled through as everything went black.’
‘It was close,’ Mr DuPont said about his near-death experience from sepsis. ‘I pretty much pulled through as everything went black’
Mr DuPont is now working to raise awareness of sepsis. ‘I ultimately view this as a good thing that gave me appreciation and perspective that I wouldn’t otherwise have’
Mr DuPont had gone into sepsis, though it’s unclear if it was caused by a skin infection or another underlying pathogen.
Further tests done during the hospital stay indicated endocarditits, which is inflammation of the inner lining around the heart’s chambers and valves.
This is usually caused by an infection that travels through the bloodstream and attaches to the heart. It’s most common in older people, as well as those with damaged or artificial valves.
Additionally, an echocardiogram indicated tricuspid valve regurgitation, which happens when the heart’s tricuspid valve does not properly close, leading blood to flow backwards.
Over time, this can lead to an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation (AFib) and heart failure if left untreated.
Mr DuPont has since been discharged from the hospital, though he is still working through cardiac-related side effects.
He is now focusing part of his time on raising awareness of the dangers of misdiagnosis and medical errors by connecting with groups like Global Sepsis Alliance and connecting with other young survivors.
Dr Steven Simpson, Professor of Medicine at the University of Kansas and Chair of the Sepsis Alliance, previously told DailyMail.com that so many sepsis cases are misdiagnosed in the US because ‘doctors are not provided with enough information to help them to diagnose sepsis.’
Cases are also on the rise, up 20 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to the most recent CDC data.
But despite this, the US has no comprehensive strategy for tackling the problem. In fact, a quarter of US hospitals have no sepsis protocol whatsoever.
‘Learning more about sepsis has been quite interesting after this experience,’ Mr DuPont said. ‘It’s blowing my mind to hear what people have gone through with this.’
‘I’ve been healthy pretty much my entire adult life. I just never expected I could go through something like this, and I think it’s important that people are aware that this can happen.’
‘I ultimately view this as a positive experience that gave me appreciation and perspective that I wouldn’t otherwise have.’
