Nancy Moreau thought she had the flu.
She hadn’t been feeling well for two months. She could hardly eat or drink. She was sleeping all night and large parts of the day. And she was so weak and tired she could hardly walk across the room.
“On the night of March 29, 2019, I went to bed and I was just freezing. I had blankets piled all over me and I couldn’t get warm, but when my husband came to check on me, I was burning up with a fever. I started throwing up and was incoherent. My husband called the ambulance, and I was rushed to Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH),” recalls Nancy.
Once arriving at GBGH, it was determined that Nancy had a very serious blood infection that was attacking her heart, lungs and other organs, and that she was going into septic shock.
“I don’t like to think about it,” says Nancy. “Everything is a bit of a blur, but I know they gave me antibiotics to fight the infection and then later that night I was nodding off and I started to choke, and I couldn’t breathe at all. I saw a white tunnel of light and all of the doctors and nurses were over me and then I finally was able to get air. I later found out that I stopped breathing three times that night and Dr. Tahir and the team in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) fought all night long to save my life multiple times.”
Thankfully, because of the generosity of caring donors in our community, Nancy received the critical care she needed, when she needed it most.
“All and all I spent 19 days in the hospital,” continues Nancy. “As it turns out the infection was caused by a tooth extraction that I had in January. And even though there were no signs of infection then, somehow an infection got into my blood and I almost died from it. Without GBGH I wouldn’t be here today. Having worked as an OPP Auxiliary Officer for 36 years in this community, I am very familiar with the hospital and let me tell you, we are darn lucky to have GBGH. It’s an excellent hospital and people need to appreciate it and support it. We’re so grateful. If I ever win lots of money in the lottery, GBGH is getting $5 million from us!”