Sepsis Stories

Katelynn Aguilar

Hi! I’m Katelynn from Edinburgh, Indiana. I had a baby June 15, 2021, and I didn’t get the proper care from the delivery which caused my uterus to get infected and then my blood got infected. I was admitted into the hospital… READ MORE

Mark Baggett

Over the last couple years I've had sepsis 5 times and hospitalized 8 times. I’ve also had about 30 surgeries. I'm on social security disability and we struggle making ends meet each month. When I was told about this grant… READ MORE

Samantha Cercena

While most were out celebrating and with their families, I got to ring in 2022 in an ICU, alone, and on a vent. My sepsis Journey started in 2020 when I contracted COVID-19. Following my infection I developed the illness… READ MORE

Katora Chalk-Ackiss

Meet Sepsis Survivor Katora Chalk-Ackiss of Suffolk, Virginia. Katora, who had never heard of sepsis before becoming ill, was diagnosed with sepsis in December 2018 and as recently December 2020. The scariest… READ MORE

Virginia Chianelli

In 2021, what began as a celebration of the joyous arrival of my long-anticipated first child, quickly turned into a fight for my own life. Sepsis was a foreign thing to me. I naively assumed it was something that happened in… READ MORE

Tessa Marie Clagg

SUBMITTED BY HER MOTHER, AUGUST STEINBROOK

My daughter Tessa Marie Clagg was 24 when she died. She died February 9, 2022. I'd believed her death certificate would say… READ MORE

Brittney Crow

Brittney Crow was diagnosed with a UTI, but the antibiotics she was prescribed for the infection weren't helping. The morning she went into sepsis, Brittney was weak, unable to walk and had a high fever. With her condition… READ MORE

Nicole Daily

Nicole Daily, 42, feels lucky to be alive following her sepsis battle. During a surgical procedure, Nicole's bowel was accidentally cut which caused it to leak into her abdomen. She went into septic shock, multiple organ failure... READ MORE

Teresa P. Fish

Immediately after I gave birth to my 15-year-old twins, I was diagnosed with Auto-Immune Hepatitis, and as a result, my immune system is extremely compromised. I am a school teacher, and I contracted sepsis during... READ MORE

Kelsi Godfrey

Thursday, March 23rd 2023, I gave birth to my fourth son. Everything went well and it was a normal delivery. Friday, March 24th, I started experiencing shortness of breath, but all of my vitals were fine. Then on Saturday... READ MORE

Kimberly Hackett

On September 25, 2011, I started feeling bad on a 7-hour road trip back to North Carolina from Tennessee. I just felt bad and feverish. It continued to get worse over the next week. A lot worse. Numerous trips to the doctor… READ MORE

Terri Harper

Sunday, July 1st, 2018, it was like any other day. I felt fine and cleaned the house most of the day. Later that evening I was feeling tired but figured it was from cleaning. I started feeling very cold and began shivering... READ MORE

James Jamison

James “Jimmy” Jamison was taken to the ER in June 2021 where they found an obstruction in his large intestines and was taken to surgery. After surgery, he continued to decline as his blood pressure was bottoming out... READ MORE

Casey Jernigan

Casey Jernigan of Offerman, Georgia was diagnosed with sepsis  March 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Jernigan, 46, initially went to the doctor with what they thought was a sinus infection. The following morning Casey was… READ MORE

Jackie Johnson

Sepsis Survivor Jackie Johnson is 28 and from Beloit, Wisconsin. Johnson was diagnosed with sepsis in February of 2018 from the flu, was hospitalized for 2 weeks and on ventilators. In her own words, Jackie share what… READ MORE

Sarah Kiehl

Early in 2016, after years of endometriosis and only 12 weeks after a c-section with twins, I went through with a full laparoscopic hysterectomy. Two weeks following the surgery I saw my surgeon for some strange symptoms… READ MORE

Sadie Kirdar

Whenever I tell this story, my first instinct is to laugh. For a while after it happened, this confused me — there’s really nothing funny about having nearly died. However, I now realize that it’s a reaction to the magnitude of the situation, and… READ MORE

Alycia Kradas

At 27 years old in October of 2017, I felt like I had a cold in my head, and it just hadn’t fallen into my chest yet. I went to my primary doctor, and she diagnosed my symptoms as a sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics… READ MORE

Eva Joy Lane

Eva Joy Lane was born in November 2021. She spent her first 38 days in the hospital, diagnosed with sepsis, PPHN, and GBS. Today, she is home with her mommy, daddy, and brothers. She is thriving, healthy, and loves to… READ MORE

Jay Latham

My sepsis story started around 2011 when I lived in Fort Myers FL. I started having a severe pain in the left side of my abdomen. I was hospitalized and diagnosed with Diverticulitis. I changed my diet and did all the other things… READ MORE

Jenny Lorraine

I had sepsis three times and septic shock with liver failure once. sepsis caused a massive pulmonary embolism that killed my right lung, and damaged my heart. I’ve had four heart surgeries and have a pacemaker now... READ MORE

Jill Melanson

It was January 30th, 2023, when I decided to fall asleep to Pocahontas and almost never woke up. I remember the exact date because to me it represents an entirely different life. I don’t remember much from the days… READ MORE

Sophia Moores

Sophia, a 13-year-old teenager has experienced sepsis 3 times so far in 2021. The first in January was the most disastrous because it caused an over 8-minute cardiac arrest from the septic shock that damaged all of her major... READ MORE

Tara Rawls

Tara Rawls from Virginia Beach, Virginia was diagnosed with septic shock August 2020. Tara, 35, had heard of sepsis, but really didn't know much about it let alone the symptoms. While waiting in the hospital she saw… READ MORE

Bella Resweber

SUBMITTED BY HER MOTHER, NICHOLE RESWEBER

My daughter Bella was diagnosed with a rare form of brain Cancer in October of 2021. She went to St. Judes where we began our battle… READ MORE

Kelli Shaw

I’ve been a TSS survivor for only a few months and have been looking to find a community of survivors that understands. I’d love to share my story in hopes of finding that connection and closure…
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Tanai Smith

Meet 28 year-old Tanai Smith. Tanai Smith, from Maryland, was diagnosed with sepsis in December 2017.In her own words, "After the surgery I went into septic shock causing me to be in ICU for a few weeks. I died on… READ MORE

April Strickland

In early 2016, I had a series of successful procedures related to treating precancerous spots found by mammogram. Several weeks after, my incision began to ooze and the surgeon’s office said to apply bacitracin. That night… READ MORE

Scott P. Strochak

I was diagnosed on 1/25/22 with stage 4 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma that had metastasized to my liver. I was 61 years’ old and was in perfect health prior to the diagnosis. My symptoms at the time required… READ MORE

Andrew Weiner

Andrew Weiner has had sepsis a total of 4 times: 2013, 2018, 2019 and this past November 2020. The 54 year-old from Boxborough, Massachusetts said his 2019 diagnosis was the worst and he did not expect to make it out of… READ MORE

Leslie Williams

Sepsis Survivor Leslie Williams found herself in the Emergency Room because she was experiencing fever, chills, shortness of breath, and dizziness. After series of tests, Leslie was diagnosed with pneumonia and… READ MORE

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