Woman Contracts Sepsis After Using Shared Bathroom, Issues Urgent Warning

A woman has issued a stark warning about using shared bathrooms after contracting a dangerous virus that left her with sepsis and took her almost a year to recover from.

JaMarriae Lawrence, who goes by Mars, was working overnight at a Walmart distribution center in Virginia last year when she was hit with a ‘sudden, excruciating’ pain in her stomach.

Mars, who lives in Newport News, recalled the pain being so severe she couldn’t even stand upright.

‘I wrapped up what I was doing, slouched over, and made my way to the front,’ the 20-year-old said.

She immediately left work and went to the local hospital, where they ran blood work, CT scans, and collected urine.

‘They suspected ovarian cysts or an appendix rupture but ultimately said I was likely fighting a virus,’ she explained. ‘Since it didn’t seem life-threatening, they sent me home.’

However, Mars’ condition worsened, and she began throwing up every few hours. Concerned, she went to a different hospital and was told the same thing.

‘[They told me] “Your bloodwork shows you’re fighting something, but it’s not life-threatening,”‘ she recalled. ‘Again, I was sent home.’

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However, that night, the content creator and singer began ‘vomiting and having diarrhea at the same time.’ Noticing how sick she was, her mom took her to another hospital.

‘They ran more tests and finally discovered I was septic,’ she shared. ‘I was hospitalized. They gave me fluids and ran stool and urine cultures.’

After running more in-depth tests, doctors found that she had C. difficile (C. diff) in her stool and Mycoplasma hominis in her urine, with Mars saying she contracted the virus from using a bathroom from someone who also suffered from the illness.

Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is a type of bacteria that can cause inflammation of the colon, known as colitis, which can cause diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions. Mycoplasma hominis causes pain or burning during urination, genital discharge, and pelvic pain or discomfort.

Mars was treated with antibiotics and discharged after a week – but that wasn’t the end of her medical nightmare.

‘I felt okay for a few months,’ she recalled. ‘Around the same time, I visited someone who had C. diff at the same time I did the previous year.’

‘I used her bathroom and was shocked to find there was no soap. A month later, my symptoms returned,’ Mars shared. ‘I told my GI doctor that I suspected I had C. diff again. He ordered a stool test, which confirmed it.’

Mars was put on an antibiotic called Dificid, which eventually cleared up her symptoms.