By Rachel Applegate & Mia Allen
Focus
Midland HS
1st Place
Division 2, News Writing
Many people remember March 13 as the last day before school was called off for COVID-19. Senior Raegan Booth remembers it differently.
She asked her mom how cool it would be if Barack Obama was the MHS principal and if the doctors would get him a birthday cake. She had these unusual thoughts while in the emergency room after developing septic shock. Her liver was damaged and was cutting off blood to her brain. It was her brain’s way of saying “Hey, I’m dying”.
Septic shock is a bacterial infection that causes the blood to become toxic. It’s a result of an inflammatory response in the body due to an infectious agent, which can lead to widespread organ failure. When septic shock first appears, the person can experience a range of symptoms such as a fever, sore throat or abdominal pain.
“For me it was strep throat, so it got into my blood and started for things to become narcotic and critical,” Booth said.
Booth started feeling symptoms of septic shock one day before going to the ER. If she and her mom had waited any longer to receive help, Booth would have died.
Jennifer Jordahl, Nurse Practitioner of Internal Medicine, explains how serious septic shock is.
“It’s actually associated with a high rate of death,” Jordahl said. “Most certainly, patients who are seen as soon as they start developing symptoms are the ones who have the greatest chance for survival.”
Booth had an exploratory surgery in the emergency room to see what the problem may be. The doctors noticed tissue damage and beginning-stage organ failure. They knew she needed immediate medical attention. There was nothing Mid-Michigan Hospital could do for her though, except call for help. Mott Children’s Hospital at U-M was the first to accept her, and she took a helicopter to Ann Arbor that night.
“We happened to land almost right during a shift change so the night time staff, the doctor in charge of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit’s first specialty was septic shock,” Raegan’s mom, Holly Booth, said. “So of all the places in all the world, and all the people to land with, we landed with the best people to figure it out. That’s why she’s still here.”
Due to the negative impact septic shock could have had on Raegan’s body, many medical procedures were performed. These included IV antibiotics, testing for white blood cells, and a peripherally inserted central catheter line to access the veins and heart.
“You would have the intensivist within the ICU department, if the lungs were infected you would need the pulmonologist on staff, if the kidneys were infected you would need the nephrologist on staff. It really takes an entire team to take care of the patients as each organ in the system becomes affected,” Jordahl said.
Holly did not leave the hospital once while Raegan was in care. She described that while being there she did not feel any emotions due to the situation.
“You’re in such a state of shock yourself of unreality that your only thought was I don’t have time to think. I don’t have time to blink. I don’t have time to breathe because if I do any of those things she might be gone and I will have missed it,” Holly said.
During this challenging time for the Booth family, the medical staff made Raegan feel incredibly comfortable. Raegan and Holly were both amazed at the care she received. She said that everyone was so kind to her, and she even became close with her PICU doctor.
“They are literally superheros,” Raegan said.
After 36 days in the hospital, Raegan was discharged. Although she said it was weird to be home, she was glad to be released. She was most happy that she got to spend her seventeenth birthday at home, saying it was her best one yet.
“It was very special to me because I honestly didn’t know if I’d get to see that birthday,” Raegan said. “That was the best birthday because I was just so grateful and thankful to be alive.”
Because of the amount of surgeries Raegan had, she was left with a large scar across her stomach. Instead of hating it, she has decided to embrace it.
“I’ve grown to accept it because it now is part of who I am; it tells a story, all scars tell stories,” Raegan said. “Someday I might get a flower vine tattoo around it to embrace the beauty of it.”
Raegan and Holly both agree that this experience has changed both of their perceptions of the world. They both agree that life is short, and it can’t be taken for granted. To take all necessary precautions for her health, Raegan is an online student this school year. Although she misses her friends, she knows that her health is more important.
“As bad as things seem, there’s always a reason to find a silver lining, the world doesn’t really change, it’s your perspective,” Holly said.
NW-17. Environmental, Health or Science
This story will focus on an environmental, health or science topic. It can be a straight news story or an investigative piece. Submit a PDF of the print page(s) on which the story was published or the URL to the story on an online news site.
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Topic relevant to the school or students and covers health, science or environmental story that is informative
- Sharp, attention-getting lead grabs reader and arouses curiosity
- Shows thorough reporting skills through research and interviewing
- Effective use of facts/quotes from both primary and secondary sources
- Balanced, fair and sensitive presentation
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar; use of third person