What are some cases of patients who had no idea how serious their condition really was?

Here's my story:

By the time I was 15 I had suffered with multiple Urinary Tract Infections and even some Bladder infections due to sexual abuse. After the first couple of infections my mother figured out that if she flushed my system by giving me lots of cranberry juice, water and if it was stubborn she'd make me drink beer. When I was 2 weeks before turning 16 I got another UTI. 2 days later it was also a bladder infection. 1 day after that I couldn't move because my back was hurting so bad. She kept telling me to drink and it will pass, and left me laying in bed so she could go do whatever it was that she had to do. I don't remember much for the next few days but here's what I've been told happened. This nice lady that I babysat for came over to check on me, and noticed that I was talking about things that weren't there. She got a damp wash cloth and was trying to cool me down, when my mother came home. She demanded that my mother take me to the hospital, but my mother had things to do. So the wonderful woman took my to the ER herself. I sat with her in the waiting room for about 30 minutes, when a nurse noticed that my hand was twitching uncontrollably. The nurse took my temperature and it was 105.6. She then screamed at other staff for a bed and ice packs and rushed me off. The lady who brought me in wasn't allowed back where I was, but could hear the nurse mention seizure and brain damage. When I became aware of my surroundings I was in the pediatric intensive care unit. The nurse told me that I had been unconscious for 36 hours. They had me on heavy-duty antibiotics and I was going to be put on dialysis because my kidney's were not functioning properly. Apparently, my UTI/ Bladder infection had spread to my kidneys and went long enough untreated to almost kill me. I spent my 16th birthday in the hospital with nurses and doctors. The staff ordered me a cake to celebrate with me. My mother never visited in the 2 weeks I was there.

I am now 42 years old and I still have to be careful with my caffeine intake and drink lots of water. I get dehydrated very easily and when I do I feel pain in my back.

really