Mollie's Story (C. Diff)

My husband and I were expecting our first child. We were so excited. My pregnancy was complicated to begin with—I was considered “advanced maternal age” and had hypertension and gestational diabetes. Though it was a labor of love, pregnancy was physically hard on me. On the morning that I was 37 weeks’ gestation (to the day no less), I had a terrible headache. I did not feel well and was nauseous. I was due for a non-stress test, so I mentioned it to the nurse when we arrived. Shortly thereafter, my OB/GYN diagnosed me with pre-eclampsia. I am a nurse practitioner and am well aware of what the diagnosis meant. I was quickly taken to the OR for a C-section, during which I received intra-operative antibiotics. I was not even awake to see my beautiful baby born. My husband watched everything unfold from the window in the OR door. The staff was nice enough to call him in when the baby was being delivered.

I woke up still very sick and was hospitalized for 4 days. Luckily, I recovered, and our baby was unharmed. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of awful things to come. I remember having foul-smelling diarrhea in the hospital. I thought nothing more of it except that my symptoms persisted. I never had a fever or elevated white blood cell count, but I was exhausted! Unfortunately, my post-partum course was complicated by some intense postpartum anxiety and depression. I was placed on medications that are known to cause some gastrointestinal (GI) upset and diarrhea. I thought my symptoms were all related to medication side effects. I reached out to my GI doctor, as I have had ulcerative colitis since age 17. My symptoms were chalked up to a flare. I was placed on some different medications to manage it. I was not getting better and I could not understand why.

I finally had enough. I knew something was not right. I was drained. Yes, I realized I just had a newborn baby, surgery, and a rigorous pregnancy. I was soon to be returning to work. I called my primary doctor and respectfully requested to be tested for C. diff. He obliged and an hour later called me with the positive results. I sat on my couch holding our baby and cried. I was initially placed on an antibiotic with little improvement and then another antibiotic to the tune of $500 for a 10-day supply, with insurance. As soon as I finished it, I was sick again. I took it upon myself to contact an infectious disease physician who specialized in C. diff. I credit this doctor for saving my life.

Through a year of recurrences, I thought at one point I was going to die. What’s worse? I was ok with it. It would finally end the suffering. Relief finally culminated in December 2018, a year after my initial diagnosis, when I had a fecal transplant. Even though this happened almost 5 years ago, the trauma from the event is still very real. I have only needed antibiotics rarely since then and even when I knew I needed them (e.g., for pneumonia), I had panic attacks before and after taking them. I still worry about recurrence even to this day. I probably always will.

C. diff is more common than people think. It is preventable. It is treatable. The public and healthcare professionals alike need to be educated. This is a disease that can kill you. Advocating for yourself can make all the difference.

Acquired from the Peggy Lillis Foundation

Share Your Story

Please share your story to help others understand more about the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases, drug-resistant infections, and other infectious diseases