Erin Bates says she cannot use right leg after septic shock following birth of son
The Bringing Up Bates star was hospitalized after a UTI and kidney infection led to septic shock; she spent nearly three weeks in intensive care and has been discharged but remains without function in her right leg.
Erin Bates, a star of the reality series Bringing Up Bates, said she is unable to use her right leg after a severe health crisis that followed the birth of her seventh child.
Bates, 34, and her husband, Chad, 38, posted an update on the couple’s shared Instagram account saying she was discharged after nearly three weeks in the hospital. The posts said Bates developed a urinary tract infection and a kidney infection in the week after she gave birth to their son Henry on Aug. 25, conditions that progressed to septic shock and led to admission to the intensive care unit.
Chad Paine previously described a “lengthy and severe seizure” and said doctors were running scans and tests while Bates remained “extremely weak” and at times only partially conscious. In a separate post the couple thanked followers for prayers and said they were choosing to “count every blessing,” noting they did not yet have all the answers about her recovery.
A video shared by Chad over the weekend showed Bates in a hospital bed holding the newborn while connected to monitoring devices and IV lines. In another Instagram image, Chad was seen pushing Bates in a wheelchair as she cradled the infant. The posts and comments from family members, including siblings who traveled to visit, prompted an outpouring of messages from followers.
The couple said Henry was doing well in the neonatal unit. Chad described the birth as emotionally difficult and wrote that the infection sent Bates into septic shock, leaving doctors to treat and search for a cause. A message from the family’s verified account said nurses at the hospital admired Bates and that she had been “such a light” despite the pain.
Sepsis that follows childbirth is uncommon but can be life-threatening. Public health data show that infections and sepsis are a leading cause of maternal deaths in the United States, and some reports have indicated such complications have been increasing in recent years. Medical reviewers note that urinary tract infections and kidney infections can occasionally lead to sepsis if they spread and are not promptly controlled.
Bates’s medical history, as discussed publicly in previous years, includes multiple miscarriages early in her marriage and several surgeries in 2021 for ruptured cysts that resulted in the removal of one ovary and much of the other. She has also had her gallbladder removed. The couple, who married in 2013, are parents to seven children: Charles Steven IV, Brooklyn Elise, Everly Hope, Holland Grace, Finley Marie, William Gage and newborn Henry.
Family members and followers responded to updates on social media with messages of support and requests for continued prayers. Some commenters urged the family to consider long-term implications for Bates’s health, while others focused on immediate hopes for recovery and the well-being of the infant.
The Bateses run a YouTube channel and have been public about aspects of their private life, including medical challenges in the past. Chad’s recent posts provided the most detailed public timeline of the recent illness: the couple said Bates’s infection began after the Aug. 25 birth, her condition worsened leading to ICU care and a seizure in early September, and she later was moved toward recovery and discharged home. The family indicated they were still awaiting full medical answers about the cause of the ongoing neurological and mobility issues affecting her right leg.
Hospital treatment for severe infections commonly includes antibiotics, supportive care for organ systems affected by sepsis, and imaging or other diagnostic tests to determine the source and extension of infection. Recovery timelines can vary; some patients require rehabilitation for weeks to months when sepsis or complications such as neurological events affect mobility.
The family asked for privacy and prayers while medical teams continued care and testing. They said they were grateful to be back together and would share further updates as they are able.