Louisiana grandmother on mission to raise awareness after amputation caused by sepsis

(Aging Untold) — Chris Davenport practices writing her signature with patience and determination. Each stroke of the pen serves as a testament to the Louisiana grandmother’s journey as she learns the intricacies of writing her signature.

In March 2022, an event nearly erased the life she knew.

Davenport got up preparing to take her grandkids to school when severe stomach pains propelled her into a panic.

“I felt like the worst labor pains with no anesthesia,” Davenport said.

An ambulance took her to the hospital where she was treated in the emergency room. Doctors diagnosed her with an intestinal issue, gave her medication for her symptoms and sent her home.

“I do remember the doctor in the hospital giving me something for pain and nausea, and it stopped,” Davenport said.

Her relief was only temporary.

The next morning, Davenport said, the intense stomach pain returned, but this time it looked different.

“My family told me that my stomach blew up like I was eight months pregnant,” she said.

Septic shock

Fewer than 24 hours after her first emergency room visit, her condition had deteriorated into the final and most severe stage of sepsis, called septic shock, Davenport said. Doctors had to place her into a medically induced coma.

“Every hour that somebody is septic and they’re not being treated, the mortality rate is going up by 8%,” Dr. Mark Laperouse, chief of emergency medicine at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said.

Laperouse didn’t treat Davenport, but said sepsis causes the body to have an extreme and dangerous reaction to an infection.

“Your body is trying to fight that infection. So as a result, it ramps up and creates a big inflammatory response,” Laperouse said.

That inflammatory response can lead to one of the most serious impacts of sepsis: amputations. In Davenport’s case, doctors had to amputate both her hands and feet.

Less than a year after her amputations, Davenport received prosthetic legs. She takes hold of her new reality by raising awareness about sepsis and limb loss.

She wrote a book titled “All of a Sudden,” which addresses the obstacles she faced during her recovery and how she rebuilt her life, another event she hopes will inspire others to rewrite their story and overcome life’s challenges.

“Now you know it feels good, and to be honest, at first I was mad. Like, now I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Davenport said.

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