How Can You Help?
Share your StorySupport UsGet Resources

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

Susan Dorsey

Survivor

I’m a two time sepsis survivor. Six years ago, I had kidney stones which led to an UTI and ultimately sepsis. (Sepsis and Kidney Stones, Sepsis and Urinary Tract Infections) I was on a business trip in a new job, when I became very sick. I thought I had the flu. I managed to drive 6 hours back home after spending a long painful night in my hotel room. Went to the ER the next day, and was put into a medically induced coma to allow the doctors time to figure out the cause. Turns out it was a kidney …

Read storyView All Faces

Teddy Bennett

Survivor, Survivor

My story of Strep A, toxic shock and sepsis. My 11-month-old son Teddy became ill in October 2018 around Halloween. I took him to the GP twice, then to a walk-in centre. He was admitted to hospital via ambulance for observation and then discharged a few hours later. I took him back to the hospital the following morning as I knew something was not right. He was observed again and then discharged with a district nurse attending our home the following morning. Teddy was then rushed in via ambulance, he had become severely unwell. The team struggled access veins, after …

Read storyView All Faces

Grace Lee

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

My name is Grace Lee. On October 4th 2020 I woke up in abdominal pain and went to work, only be driven home minutes later by a friend in 10/10 pain. I spent the whole day crouched over my bed throwing up pretty much nothing. Me and my parents thought I must have food poisoning but I knew deep down this pain was severe. I tried to sleep but couldn’t. Lay down I was in so much pain. At 3 am I went to the hospital and was screaming in the most pain I could ever imagine, it felt like …

Read storyView All Faces

Paul Bechtelheimer

Survivor, 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, …

Read storyView All Faces

Steph Wasson

Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor, Survivor

It’s extremely difficult to shortly summarize the most traumatic 6 months of my life, but here it goes. 2015 was supposed to be the best year of my life. And it started out that way at first. I was a young, healthy, 26-year-old ICU nurse working in a level 1 trauma center. I had just gotten married that summer, started my first semester of nurse practitioner school in the fall, and found out I was pregnant shortly after that. Little did I know that the year would end with me fighting for my life. After two weeks of complications, it …

Read storyView All Faces
Faces of Sepsis
Poster
PreviewDownload
What is Sepsis?
Infographic
PreviewDownload

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 ©2021 Sepsis Alliance. All rights reserved.

Sepsis Alliance is a tax-exempt organization under Sections 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are deductible for computing income estate taxes.
Sepsis Alliance tax ID 38-3110993.