Katie Swanberg thought she had the flu, but it was dangerous septic shock.

From her Folsom backyard, Katie Swanberg became a homegrown blogger, creating a worldwide network of friends with a common interest – gardening.

And when Swanberg, 28, became gravely ill, her friends reached out in the way they knew best – online.

The response has been overwhelming, said Swanberg's family.

"We didn't know she was so famous," said sister Kelly Swanberg, "until we got messages from Australia and England."

Swanberg is recovering from septic shock at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael. Heavily sedated, she's been hospitalized since Feb. 25, shortly after she first complained of flu-like symptoms.

"She was in great health," Kelly Swanberg said. "She thought she had the flu. But by that Thursday night, she was in intensive care."

Katie Swanberg and her blog, www.GardenPunks.com, have been featured on National Public Radio, said her sister. She also spoke about blogging at gardening conventions.

"Her blog tells the journey of her life while following plants," explained Kelly. "She grew up here in Sacramento and wrote about getting a home, completely redoing the yard and putting in raised beds."

Her blog offered a lot more. It had Katie.

"Katie is everything I want to be as a gardener – and as a person," said friend Carri Stokes, another Sacramento gardener and blogger. "I love her honesty, her snarky personality and her caring heart."

News of Swanberg's plight spread through cyberspace. The quirky, energetic young woman they had grown to love was fighting for her life.

By Thursday, more than 7,000 visitors had clicked onto a Web page set up by her family to keep friends posted. (The traffic became so great, the page now is private.) Hundreds more follow updates on Twitter.

"The outpouring is phenomenal," said Sacramento radio host "Farmer Fred" Hoffman, a friend and follower of Swanberg. "These are people who only know her from her blogs, her tweets, or gardeners who just heard about her plight from others. There really is a lot of 'garden power' out there!"

Gardening has been a lifelong outlet for Swanberg, who works as a data analyst. She started blogging about her experiences three years ago with an unsinkable can-do spirit.

Hoffman gave Swanberg a Kellogg gardening cap, which became her "Tough Girl" hat for when she needed to tackle a difficult job.

Said Hoffman, "It's hanging in her hospital room now. When she wakes up, it will be the first thing she sees."