Sepsis Alliance

Donate Button – Arrow

Patients & Family

Here you can find resources to help you or a loved one understand sepsis.

We are constantly adding new information, so please come back again to see what new features are available.

Diagnosed with Sepsis

You’re not alone

For anyone recently diagnosed with sepsis, this is the place to start. We cover the basics.

What Does it Mean

Faces of Sepsis

You’re not alone

Read stories from sepsis survivors and from people who have lost someone they love to sepsis. More than 1,000 stories cover the many types of infections that can cause sepsis, and the outcomes.

Learn More

Donna Davie

Survivor

I’m a survivor. I’ve been home six weeks from the hospital after a 51-day stay in ICU. I went in for a routine colonoscopy. The doctor perforated my colon. (Sepsis and Perforated Bowel) Septic shock and ARDS set in. (Sepsis and ARDS) They put me on a ventilator, induced a coma, which I was in for 30 days. They paralyzed me for seven days and my kidneys were shutting down. I had 16 IV bags hooked up to me and a fever almost the whole stay. They covered me with ice. My veins were collapsing. I had blood clots in …

Read storyView All Faces

Kim Real

Survivor, Survivor

Summer had just started! I had taken a few days off work to enjoy them with my 3 kids (Britton 15, Kaylee 12 and little Blake was a year and a half). Also, my sister and mom were visiting for a few days. I am a nurse. I have worked NICU, ER, Telemetry, Med-Surg, Hospice, and Pediatrics, to name a few. It started on a Friday, in June, 2009. I had felt “off,” but unable to pinpoint exactly what felt wrong. So, I decided to go upstairs to lie down. Unable to sleep, I rolled over…that’s it, I only rolled …

Read storyView All Faces

Ron Jennings

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

In November 2012 I had my pacemaker changed out. (Sepsis and Surgery, Sepsis and Invasive Devices) The new pacemaker was attached to 2 wires that had been put into my heart 23 years earlier. About 2 weeks later the incision had become red, swollen and had blisters. The incision started to separate. The surgeon looked at it in his office and said, “I have no clue what is wrong.” He sent me across the hall from his office to my cardiologist. I wasn’t even given a “patient” room and was seated in a hall. The doctor looked at me and …

Read storyView All Faces

Lorna McCormack

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

I was feeling extremely ill for about 3 months prior to my encounter with sepsis, with severe flu-like symptoms that I tried to take care of myself through flu tablets etc. I had a severe fear of hospitals and though I knew I was very sick, I was afraid of taking it further (to my doctor for fear of admission). Little did I know how serious it would become. So I went away on a motorhome holiday to France with my partner (all the time playing it down). I soon got over my fear of hospital when it became fight …

Read storyView All Faces

Lisa Brandt

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

In January 2011, at the height of influenza season, I came down with what at first, seemed like a case of the seasonal flu. However, I was exhausted to the point that I could only stay awake long enough to shuffle from my bed to the couch to fall back to sleep. I experienced sudden chills that cooled me to the bone and would develop a desperate thirst that sent me to the kitchen sink at sprint to down several glasses of water, and then pass out again for hours. My family doctor’s office refused to see me, despite practically begging, …

Read storyView All Faces
faces of sepsis
Faces of Sepsis
Poster
ViewDownload
What is Sepsis?
Infographic
ViewDownload

Military & Veterans

Many of today’s life saving medical and surgical procedures were first discovered or refined by the military.

Learn More

Mental Health

Sepsis survivors and family members of people who have had sepsis may find themselves experiencing emotional and psychological issues that can make it difficult to move forward.

Find Help

It’s About Time™

It’s About TIME™ is a national initiative to raise awareness of sepsis and the urgent need to seek treatment when symptoms are recognized.

Early detection is the best hope to survive and limit disabilities when sepsis is present.
Learn More

Erin’s Campaign for Kids

IN MEMORY OF ERIN BUG FLATLEY | 1978 – 2002

Erin’s Campaign for Kids aims to combat the high incidence and mortality rates of sepsis among children. The campaign creates awards and training programs for nurses and other health professionals to help identify and treat a disease that, by conservative estimates, causes over 18 child deaths per day or 6,800 child deaths in the United States every year, more than pediatric cancers.

Learn More

Copyright ©2020 Sepsis Alliance. All rights reserved.