Three local women known as ‘The Sepsis Warriors’ have taken their plight to Leinster House today to initiate change and create awareness around sepsis.
Hannah Tormey, Catriona Cahill and Sinead O’Reilly gave a presentation to senators and td’s that gathered to hear about the condition from the three Co Cavan women.
The sepsis awareness presentation took place in the AV Room in Leinster House this afternoon and was organised by local Minister Niamh Smyth.
The presentation focused on how sepsis has been affecting our communities and was delivered by Sinead O Reilly, a Clinical Nurse Specialist and board member of the Irish Sepsis Foundation.
The presentation offered by Sinead, Catriona and Hannah highlighted the impact of sepsis and they also explored how this life-threatening, yet preventable condition can be better recognised and managed across Ireland.
All three shared their personal stories in relation to how sepsis has affected their families lives Sinead O’Reilly, lost her sister in law to sepsis on October 16, 2022. Sarah was only 34 and had just had twins five months prior to contracting sepsis. Even though Sarah had attended hospital straight away it would be some seven days after she had been sick before the diagnosis of sepsis was given.
Catriona lost her mother to sepsis in 2017 at the age of 60 years of age. She spoke of how her mother was a very active 60 year old and how quickly the illness took hold. Catriona said that she went from being fine one day to losing her life to the condition.
Hannah spoke about how her 17 year old daughter last year had the condition and even though she had the symptoms of sepsis, the length of time before she was diagnosed was way too long and she now suffers from Post-sepsis syndrome. Hannah said even though her daughter who is now 18 had all the signs of sepsis, it took way too long for her to receive the treatment needed to tackle the very serious infection.
Hannah said that this does not discriminate against age and that anyone at any age can get sepsis, adding that she wants that message to go out loud and clear.
Sinead said that there were multiple failures in relation to the response that her sister in law received in relation to the diagnosis of sepsis.
All three are on a mission to implement change and want to spread the word and have people asking the question could it be sepsis?
Today’s presentation in the Dail is one of the opportunities to cause that conversation, they are also doing talks locally and are willing to call out to any community group or school to speak. Catriona can be contacted on 086-1980692.
The next meeting of the Sepsis Support and Awareness Group held in Virginia is taking place in three weeks time on April 24th.
The aim of the group, which is in collaboration with the Irish Sepsis Foundation, is to provide a space for people who have been affected by the disease to share their stories.
All three that are doing a wonderful public service wanted to stress that sepsis is a life-threatening complication of an infection, but most people make a full recovery if it's identified and treated quickly.
Catriona said that time is everything and without quick treatment, sepsis can lead to multiple organ failure and death.
an adult or older child has had an infection and:
- is acting confused, slurring their speech, not making sense or not their usual self
- has difficulty breathing, breathlessness or is breathing very fast
- their lips are blue or slightly blue
- pounding in their chest
- has hands and feet that feel cold, clammy and look pale
- feels dizzy, faint or loses consciousness (passes out)
- is not peeing as much as normal - for example, not peeing for a day
- has a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, in the same way you check for meningitis
- has severe muscle pain
- is complaining of severe leg pain or difficulty standing
- is still unwell after 24 hours or is getting worse
They could have sepsis. They may not have all these symptoms. Even if they have just 1, get urgent medical help.
a baby or child under 5:
- has blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue
- has a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, in the same way you check for meningitis
- is being very sluggish, unusually sleepy and hard to wake
- feels unusually cold to touch
- has had no pee or wet nappies for more than 12 hours
- is breathing very fast
- has fits or convulsions
- has a weak, high-pitched cry that's not like their normal cry
- has an infection, is still unwell after 24 hours or is getting worse
Your child could have sepsis. They may not have all these symptoms. Even if they have just 1, get urgent medical help.
It's not always easy to tell if you are developing sepsis. There are lots of possible symptoms. Symptoms can be vague. They can be similar to symptoms of other conditions, including flu or a chest infection.
All three ladies want to make sure that no one else suffers the heartbreak that sepsis has caused to them and their families and by highlighting and campaigning they see this as a way they can do their bit to educate and inform others, not just across the region but across the country.
