Karen Sgori’s SJS Story

I was diagnosed in April of 2021 with SJS.

I had started taking lamotrigine. I was on it for three weeks when I started to feel bad.

It started with a high fever of 104. I went to the ER on April 16th, 2021, and all they did

was test me for Covid. It was negative and they sent me home.

The next day I did a televisit and that doctor put me on an antibiotic with sulfa in it.

Two days later I went back to the ER feeling worse and getting a rash. Same thing

tested me for Covid and sent me home.  Of course that’s all you could have back then.

On April 23, 2021, around 3:00 in the morning my husband called 911. I was totally out

of it. Now my body is covered in blisters, I couldn’t see and was in excruciating pain.

They did a biopsy on my belly and that confirmed I had SJS.

They had to find an ICU bed in the burn unit and the closest one was in Galveston, TX

which is 1 1/2 hours away from our home.

It was the most painful thing I’ve ever been through and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I

know if they caught it sooner, I may not have the eye issues I have but I also know that I

didn’t have it nearly as bad as others. I just can’t imagine it being worse.

I am a Flight Attendant, and I have been off for six months. I should’ve been off longer,

but I needed to work to make money.

It’s a challenge every day with my eyes but I and so blessed they healed as much as

they did. My tear ducts are scarred, and I cannot cry or produce any moisture in my

eyes. I am thankful for scleral lenses. They are uncomfortable to wear but not having

them in my eyes is worse.