Patients & Family

Sepsis Alliance provides information and resources to help you better understand your or your loved one’s sepsis diagnosis.

Diagnosed with Sepsis

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

Sepsis Basics

Sepsis Survivors

Some sepsis survivors recover completely and resume their lives, while others may struggle to cope with enduring effects of their illness. Here you can find information to help you navigate post-sepsis life.

Survivor Resources

Caregivers

When your loved one becomes ill with sepsis, you may not know what sepsis is or how to help them. Here are resources that may help you navigate this complex and difficult journey.

Caregiver Resources

Lost Loved Ones

Losing a loved one to sepsis can leave you with grief as well as many questions. Here are answers to some of the questions you may have after losing a loved one to sepsis.

Resources for Loved Ones

Sepsis Alliance Connect

Sepsis Alliance Connect is the virtual support community for anyone affected by sepsis.

Sepsis Alliance Connect

Faces of Sepsis

Ron N.

Survivor

Started December 15 when at a business Xmas party, all of a sudden could not stop shaking. Everyone wanted to call an ambulance but being a stubborn male went home. The next day my knee was in so much pain could not walk and we called ambulance. Was quickly put through as my condition was getting worse. I was having heart failure. The next 10 days I was comatose. I learned later they called my family to come in as they did not think I would survive. When I came out of it. I could not walk after many tests ... Read Full Story

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Jean Perley

Survivor, Survivor

So this happened to me. Right before Christmas I had a lot of lower abdominal pain and felt like I had to pee constantly. I went to the Urgent Care near me because it was a weekend. They assumed it was a UTI and called in a prescription for an antibiotic which I took until it was gone. About 3 weeks later I started having the same sensation so I went to my primary doctor. She sent off a urine sample and called in a prescription for antibiotics. (Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) My pharmacy failed to deliver my medication ... Read Full Story

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Amanda V.

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

It was my first week at college, first time ever being away from my parents. It’s supposedly meant to be exciting and fun, right? That’s what I figured, for a perfectly healthy 18-year-old freshman like me. Three days before my first class began, I came down with the highest fever I’ve ever had – a 103 – and no antipyretics I took could break it. I went to the student clinic on day 3 of my illness, and they dismissed it as a mild URI (upper respiratory infection) as my Covid and flu tests came back negative. I thought I’d ... Read Full Story

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Paula Jacobs

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

After working on development of one of the country’s first electronic sepsis alerts, followed by 18 years of leading teams in early detection and treatment of sepsis, I thought I knew everything there was to know about sepsis. But I did not know how it makes you feel. That all changed in 2016 when I developed severe sepsis after just a couple of days of fever from undiagnosed pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) There was no preceding upper respiratory illness, no cough, just fever and extreme fatigue. It was about the sickest I had ever felt, with that vague yet horrible ... Read Full Story

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Kaity Schlauer

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

In March 2024, only a week after moving to a different state, I developed the worst pain of my life on the right side of my abdomen. I knew something was wrong, maybe my appendix, but didn’t know what so I went to the ER. They did a CT and ultrasound, but nothing abnormal came up. They figured it was my first kidney stone, gave me some pain meds, and sent me home to pass it. Within an hour of being back home I spiked a fever, started vomiting profusely, and was fetal on the bathroom floor in so much ... Read Full Story

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