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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.

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Sarah C.

Survivor

I don’t get sick often. I never have. But when I do its usually something serious!! One day I wasn’t feeling well and I had a fever with no cough or sore throat and I didn’t understand what was wrong. But never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that what would happen next would ever happen to me. 3 days later I wake up and my hip was hurting a little and I was limping. And by the end of the day I couldn’t even wipe my own butt. I couldn’t walk, I could hardly move. All I …

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Shay and Amelia B.

Survivor, Survivor

It was Friday, October 24, 2014. I was 27 weeks pregnant and just finished two long days of parent teacher conferences. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. My husband and I had scheduled a long overdue date night, but I was so tired I ended up sleeping through it. (Sepsis and Pregnancy & Childbirth) I woke up in the middle of the night to uncontrollable chills and could not stop shaking; violently shaking. The next day my husband had planned to go golfing, but I was to tired to move so my mom said she …

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Paul Bechtelheimer

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

It still amazes me that you can be absolutely fine one day and in intensive care the next day. My husband, Paul, went to work on a Thursday and started to feel ill. He came home early which was very uncharacteristic of him. We thought he had the flu. The next day he ended up in the emergency room and ultimately the ICU. Thankfully the doctor in the emergency department recognized the Paul was showing all the signs of sepsis and started treatment immediately. Paul was running a fever and was incoherent at times. He felt better after some fluids, …

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Vicki Shenton

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

Had a 5 1/2 hour planned abdominal surgery 12/23/20. (Sepsis and Surgery) Was originally told by both surgeon and anesthesiologist that I would require an overnight hospital stay. In post op recovery, there were no orders for admission so the nurses discharged me home. I didn’t know it at the time, but my sats were 89%. I was discharged home without an incentive spirometer, follow up labs and antibiotics. I was having shortness of breath and considerable pain so I saw my surgeon within 7 days post op. I had all of incisions and drain sites covered. The surgeon said …

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Steven Wirtz

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

My story about sepsis changed my life tremendously both financially and mentally. That day I was diagnosed with double phenomena and I went home and went to bed to sleep. (Sepsis and Pneumonia). During that same night, I woke up and went to seek help. While I was driving back home I was pulled over by a police officer for careless driving. As I was being interviewed and questioned, I was asked by the officer to perform a breathalyzer and not knowing at the time of sepsis, I had I couldn’t perform the breathalyzer and was arrested for failure and …

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Faces of Sepsis
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Military & Veterans

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

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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.

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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.
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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.

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