My Nanni - my grandma - was the strongest woman I’ve ever known. In the last few years of her life, she was admitted to hospital multiple times and fought sepsis 3 times. Each episode took a serious toll. Sepsis made her much weaker every episode and her heart failure severely worsened after each battle. Watching her strength fade little by little was heartbreaking.

She passed away in November 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. While we’re not certain if sepsis was the direct cause, we know it played a major role in the decline of her health. What’s even harder to accept is how little we understood about it at the time. We didn’t always know the signs to look for, what questions to ask, or how to help.

Sepsis is still so misunderstood. It can come on suddenly, with symptoms that are easy to miss or confused with other conditions. And once it takes hold, it moves fast. There’s a real lack of awareness, education, and support — not just for families, but sometimes even within healthcare settings.

I was incredibly close to my grandma. Losing her was, and still is, one of the most painful experiences of my life. But what stays with me is the helplessness we felt, and the wish that we had known more. Maybe, just maybe, it could have made a difference.

Almost 5 years on, I want to take this time to remember her- her strength, her love, and everything she gave to us. And I want to speak up, because we need more education and understanding around sepsis. No family should feel lost the way we did.

This is for you, Nanni. I miss you every single day, but your strength still guides me 🩷