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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Valli Williams

Survivor

Actually I’m a survivor and this is a tribute. In Jan 2020 my father was having surgery scheduled in March to fix the infection in his foot from a previous surgery. (Sepsis and Surgery) He went into the hospital Feb 9,2020 and the last time I saw him there was Feb 14, 2020, when he told me what song to sing at his funeral (he loved to hear me sing) and told me he wasn’t going to make it out of the hospital. The infection traveled to his blood and gave him heart failure and eventually kidney failure. He ended ... Read Full Story

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Molly G.

Survivor, Survivor

Christmas Day 2013 I woke up not feeling good. I had been fighting horrible back pain for almost a year so it wasn’t unusual. We were supposed to join relatives for the day but we canceled so I went up to bed. A little later I tried to go downstairs for water but stumbled and when husband ask how I was I could only mumble. At that point he packed me up and took me to ER. They did not see any signs of illness except my mental state and high temperature. They began antibiotic IV and decided to intubate ... Read Full Story

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Emma Russell

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

I was admitted to hospital during the first lockdown, told that I had a kidney infection and that I needed surgery. (Sepsis and Bacterial Infections) I had been admitted with shakes and shivers and a raging fever. The nurses spent days giving me antibiotics and fluids. I was released, on the waiting list as a priority 6/8 weeks. 18 months later and several kidney infections later, low dose of antibiotics to keep the infections at bay, I was invited for my op. A staghorn calculus kidney stone was almost covering my kidney and surgery was to break this up. (Sepsis ... Read Full Story

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Samantha Bullock

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

February 8, 2013 I was 8 days out from having an emergency cervical cerclage to help save my baby. I went to sleep fine. I was approximately 17 weeks pregnant so I thought my tiredness and sickness was pregnancy related. (Sepsis and Pregnancy & Childbirth) I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever, I assumed I had the flu. My daughter and mom had it but I stayed away because I was pregnant. I felt like I was freezing to death. By the time we made it to the gas station about 15 minutes away I ... Read Full Story

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Sarah Hardy

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

October 2019 my family and I had come away to my in-laws’ caravan. The plan was to take our 4 year old out for the day. Monday we arrived, by the Wednesday I had began feeling poorly. I didn’t want to let my son down so put on a brave face and off we went for our day out. The train journey I felt shivery and sick. I remember looking for handles on the walls to hold on to when we walked around. When we got back I went straight to bed, feeling feverish thinking I had the flu coming. ... Read Full Story

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Faces of Sepsis
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What is 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 challenges 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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