A woman from Texas experienced one of the worst outcomes of what she initially believed was just a common cold.
Sherri Moody, a teacher from Deer Park just outside of Houston, was left fighting for her life after a seemingly routine infection left her needing to get all of her limbs amputated.
It all started when the 51-year-old was on a class trip in April 2023 when she felt herself coming down with what she believed was a cold.
With colds being so common, Sherri paid no attention to it, but when she suddenly started getting more bothersome symptoms such as a high fever and breathing issues, she was rushed to the emergency department.
"I’ve never gone to the ER before in my life," Moody told TODAY in an interview. "I was very healthy, very in shape. I ate right, exercised."
After being analyzed by doctors, they concluded that Sherri was suffering from double pneumonia which was caused by the streptococcus bacteria. Her body quickly went into septic shock, which is a life-threatening bodily reaction that involves a severe drop in blood pressure.
According to the Sepsis Alliance, once a patient starts experiencing breathing difficulties or other organ issues, they're most likely in a severe state of the disease.
Sherri's husband, David, stated that he had to search for extra information about sepsis but once he saw what it could potentially lead to, he realized that this could get dangerous very quickly.
"I had to Google what sepsis was. I had no idea. We’re pretty healthy people," the 53-year-old told the outlet. "I recognized real quick that we were in a severe situation. I was scared to pieces."
What made the situation worse was the fact that Sherri was taking immune-suppressing medication for rheumatoid arthritis, which meant that her body was already compromised and was not in the best condition to fight such a powerful reaction.
"It was like a category 5 hurricane coming in," David continued. "She had nothing to fight with. It’s like she went to war with no soldiers."
Doctors worked quickly to put Sherri into a coma in order to push stronger medication through her bloodstream, though this did not bring circulation back to the parts of her that had experienced the most damage.
Within days, David recalled watching the flesh of his wife turn black.
"I literally watched my wife’s feet and hands die," he said. "They were black and they were mummified."
The teacher was forced to have both her arms amputated, as well as her legs just below the knee and while this news was obviously distressing, Sherri recalled being "calm" in the situation.
After the operations, as well as a further month of rehabilitation afterward, Sherri was finally allowed to go home, though in an entirely different condition to which she arrived.
Despite this though, she chose to be positive about the entire ordeal.
"I’m very mentally strong," Sherri said. "I just choose to be happy."
She continued: "It’s not to say that I don’t have a breakdown every now and then and just cry a little bit. I don’t let it last long."
David referred to his wife as "amazing" adding that he struggled more about the situation.
"This is the most difficult thing that I’ve ever gone through in my life," he stated.
While the journey is far from over (Sherri has more upcoming operations to try and remove the gangrene on her kneecaps), she's living her life to the best she can.
"Both of us together talk about our blessings. We talk about the things that are going right in our day, in our lives," David said.
"I’m a lot stronger than what I ever even thought I was," Sherri concluded.
We're truly inspired by Sherri's story, and we wish he continued success with her recovery.
