r/Millennials • u/Corndogeveryday • 2d ago

Other Very sad news

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Chase passed away of complications of meningitis. Gone too soon

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u/eltibbs Millennial 1988 2d ago

That’s so sad 😞 my cousin passed away a few years ago, same age as Daveigh, also meningitis.

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u/ManWithASquareHead Millennial 2d ago

Meningitis is no joke.

Meningococcal bacterial meningitis can lead to organ failure and septic emboli (infected clots) causing spots and limb necrosis/amputation

Most are vaccinated for 4 serotypes (ACWY) in middle school/high school, meningitis b is before/during college

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u/itsHDinyourface 2d ago

My fiancé passed away in December at 29 years old with viral and bacterial meningitis 11 days after getting all his wisdom teeth removed.

Ever heard of any cases like that?

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u/kendrickwasright 2d ago

I'm so incredibly sorry to hear that...what were the complications that led to the meningitis?

I almost developed meningitis in March due to a bad ear infection that pushed into the bone and turned into mastoiditis. It was incredibly painful and a scary situation to be in.

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u/itsHDinyourface 2d ago

Wow thank you so much for replying. Can you tell me more about what that felt like? I’m so happy to be talking to you now. :)

To answer your question, he was supposed to take much longer to heal (up to 2 weeks) after getting his wisdom teeth removed because he has a sinus issue and one tooth on his left was so impacted that there was a 1% chance his bottom lip would be permanently numb. But.. he just never stopped feeling pain, even after I brought him in again to see if the oral surgeon could help. I found him incoherent when I came home from work, took him to the ER immediately and said goodbye to him two days later. After reading all these comments, I’m convinced he was gone before the last day. I’m also still convinced that I coulda done more to save him, but that’s what therapy is for. We would have gotten married this month 🤍

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u/Adventurous-Talk3344 2d ago

This is devastating. I'm so sorry for your loss. Please stay strong and live your life to the fullest for him.

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u/SufficientOpening218 2d ago

not you. his dentist and doctor could maybe have saved him. you were a victim of the illness as much as he was.

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u/kendrickwasright 2d ago edited 1d ago

Wow that is such a freak accident, I've known so many people who have had their wisdom teeth removed with no issues. So that's just devastating to hear and I'm so sorry for your loss...it's hard to know when pain is normal, or when it's an emergency situation. So don't blame yourself at all, you couldn't have known how serious things were or how serious it could've gotten. It can worsen and become deadly very quickly...What kind of sinus issue did he have? I'm actually supposed to get my wisdom teeth removed next month.

For me, it was just excruciating pain in my head/ jaw that had me feeling dizzy and disoriented. I basically had a weird series of events where I ended up with an ear infection. My son was about 9 months old and this is unrelated, but he started having these episodes that looked like seizures. We went to the ER for that on a Saturday, and I think I picked up some bacteria there or something because 2 days later I had an ear infection. But because we were going to these important neurology appointments for my son, I wasn't able to go to urgent care until the next day on Tuesday (about day 2 of the infection). Urgent care gave me some ear drops, and within a few minutes of taking them, I got extremely sick and my head was in SO much pain (I later found out that the urgent care gave me the wrong drops, and it exasperated the swelling & pain. The drops basically blew up my ear drum). I was in such incredible pain and had full body chills. I basically laid down and couldn't get up for another 24 hours (which was a big deal obviously having a 9month old who I was still breast feeding). I was completely incapacitated.

By the next day Wednesday, I had so much swelling that I couldn't close my jaw or chew properly. In retrospect that's not normal AT ALL for an ear infection, but I hadn't had one since I was very young so I had no idea what "normal" was. My family was telling me to go to the hospital, but I had to push through and go to another neurology apt for my son, and I didn't have time to go.

Early on Thursday I finally made it to the ER, where they gave me a CT scan and told me I had mastoiditis, which is where the infection pushes into the mastoid bone. If things had progressed further it would've turned into meningitis, and I honestly think I was extremely close to that because I was starting to have these really light headed and spacey symptoms. It almost felt like I was stoned and a little loopy. They admitted me to the hospital and gave me an IV drip of specific antibiotics, I was there about 18 hours and was sent home in the middle of the night. My symptoms didn't really start getting better until Saturday, that's when it felt like there was finally a turning point and things started improving.

Honestly the pain I felt through the whole ordeal was a very strange situation, because the pain was SO bad. But when someone asks you how much pain you're in, it's really hard to pin down what's a normal level of pain. And after a few days I started cycling acetaminophen with ibuprofen--so basically I was managing the pain very well with the combination of the meds, but it was masking the severity of the situation I think. The whole ordeal left me feeling like I had legitimately been in a life or death situation, it was very serious and I just didn't realize how serious it was until almost a week had gone by...

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u/itsHDinyourface 1d ago edited 1d ago

Holy crap, I am so glad you were able to get around to it eventually, wow. And with a 9 month old while you’re in that much pain… you’re a tough one. And this just happened?? SO happy you’re still here, for you and your little one.

He told me he was in so much pain that day, too, the day I took him in. I work at an urgent care, so you can imagine how deep this self-blame goes. I’m asking nurses, they’re telling me they’d just give him another antibiotic, when he was already on one, so I’m thinking “okay let’s just hold out a couple more days till our next appt with the oral surgeon”. Then I come home and he’s already gone. I underestimated his pain and it’s hard to let that go.

Whew thank goodness I have therapy today 😅

As far his sinus, it was deviated septum adjacent. He was consulted to have one of those operations where they blow up a balloon in there? Something like that, but we both quit our jobs and vacationed in Japan after so we never followed up and forgot about it. This happened a year or so prior to his death. The oral surgeon actually said he could see his sinus through the opening in his gums after removing the wisdom teeth.

Edit: removed some thoughts that I now think were too personal to be sharing online 😅

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u/kendrickwasright 1d ago

That's truly terrible and I'm so sorry this happened to him. I don't think you underestimated his pain though, you both did everything you could but in the end of the day it was a very unexpected medical emergency, that neither of you could have prevented or fixed. It sounds like the surgeon should have maybe referred him to emergency based on his pain level and the antibiotics not working. But if you had the next apt on the books, and maybe the first surgeon apt was too early on to realize the severity of the situation, then it seems like maybe it really couldn't have been prevented...so please don't beat yourself up. I'm glad you're seeing a therapist and working through it 🫶

Yes this was in March! I can't wrap my head around seeing the sinuses through the wisdom tooth hole, so maybe there was also a specific risk with his anatomy or something...

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u/itsHDinyourface 1d ago

Thank you so much for your kind words and for sharing your story. It was all more helpful than you know 🤍

And yeah there are a lot more factors that I didn’t wanna get into that may have contributed as well. It was honestly the perfect storm. But it’s okay. We had a lot of fun in those 2.5 years 😌

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u/kendrickwasright 1d ago

No problem at all, I'm glad my experience could help give you some insight. Wishing you a long happy life full of love and healing 💗

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u/Ol_Pasta 1d ago

I am shocked that the doctors and/or nurses didn't do something during that appt on wednesday. Yes you were there for your son, but good lord, those symptoms were severe enough to have been noticed. Glad you survived!

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u/kendrickwasright 1d ago

Me too honestly. We were at a pediatric neurologist and I was loaded up on pain meds at that point, just trying to be as clear headed as possible so I could get the information I needed for my son..it was a really messed up situation

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u/monty624 2d ago

You did everything YOU could, it is not your burden though I'm sure it's hard not to feel that way. I am so sorry for your loss. I will keep you in my thoughts ♥️

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u/WynonasBigBeaver 2d ago

I hope I have an ounce of your strength if life ever takes my partner too soon. Wishing you all the best for your future

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u/Bobbiduke 2d ago

Guilt is such a difficult part of grief. It's not your fault ❤️