Melissa Mead

William's Legacy

Fundraising for UK Sepsis Trust
£82,613
raised of £250,000 target
by 5886 supporters
In memory of William Mead
All the money raised through Always Remember Tribute Funds will help the UK Sepsis Trust achieve its aim of saving 14,000 lives in the UK every year. For more information about our work, please visit www.sepsistrust.org.

Story

So, this is William's legacy. William passed away in his sleep on 14th December 2014 from sepsis, this was a complication of un-diagnosed pneumonia. 

As a family we hadn't heard of sepsis and assumed it was rare, that is was perhaps something people caught in hospital. This is not the case and it is so far from the truth it's astonishing. Sepsis is a life threatening condition that arises when the body's response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs.

Infection which can give rise to sepsis are common, and include lung infections, like pneumonia that William was suffering with, water infections, infections in wounds, bites or the joints and problems like burst ulcers. 

Sepsis can lead to shock, multiple organ failure  and in William's case, death. 

Life-saving treatment for sepsis is often relatively straightforward. Early recognition, and getting basic treatments including antibiotics and fluids into the patient within the first hour, can halt the progression of sepsis and hugely improve outcomes for patients. In the case of sepsis antibiotics are the single most important life-saving measure. 

Sepsis account for 44,000 deaths in the UK every year. That's more than bowel cancer, breast cancer and prostate cancer put together. This means that a 1 person dies from sepsis every 14 minutes. 

I hope by fundraising we can raise awareness of Sepsis, through innovation, research and the sharing of good practice. Sepsis needs to be recognised as a medical emergency and as a clinical priority for the NHS. We need to ensure that members of the public, patients and their relatives, and health professionals work together to think Sepsis. 

£85 to save a life from sepsis.

£5 provides an information booklet to relatives of ten patients admitted to ITU.

£10 will allow the Sepsis Trust to distribute 200 leaflets to a GP surgery.

£50 a month will train one team of doctors and nurse on a hospital ward.

£999 will provide one hospital with a 'sepsis pack' to aid implementation.

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About the campaign

All the money raised through Always Remember Tribute Funds will help the UK Sepsis Trust achieve its aim of saving 14,000 lives in the UK every year. For more information about our work, please visit www.sepsistrust.org.

About the charity

UK Sepsis Trust

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1158843
Sepsis accounts for 48,000 deaths annually in the UK, that’s more than breast, bowel and prostate cancer put together. Sepsis is what happens when our immune system overreacts to an infection. Symptoms initially present as flu like but can rapidly deteriorate into a life threatening condition.

Donation summary

Total raised
£82,612.96
+ £9,264.01 Gift Aid
Online donations
£54,302.69
Offline donations
£28,310.27

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