Rory Staunton was a 12-year-old boy with the dream to grow up to be a pilot—he had fallen in love with the story of “Sully” and the miracle landing of the disabled jet on the Hudson River. Rory was diving for a ball in his school gym one day. He got the ball but scraped his arm.
That night he awoke from sleep with pain in his leg; by the morning he had a high fever and was vomiting. He couldn’t go to school the next day. His pediatrician thought he had the stomach flu, a viral infection, but sent him to the emergency department to treat his dehydration from the vomiting. In the emergency department they sent “stat” (immediate) blood tests, but no one followed up on the results; they agreed with the pediatrician that it was a benign stomach virus and sent him home after giving him intravenous fluids.
The next day Rory couldn’t get off the couch, wasn’t eating, and had a high fever that couldn’t be controlled. His parents got in touch with the pediatrician, who insisted that Rory had a gastric flu despite them telling her that he seemed to get worse and that they were worried. By the time she saw Rory for the second time, he was already in grave shape.
The family went straight to the emergency department and Rory was admitted directly to the intensive care unit. Rory was fighting a serious infection. Bacteria had entered his blood, through the cut on his arm. Rory was in septic shock.
He fought to survive, but it was too late. Rory died within 48 hours of streptococcal sepsis, a complication of the simple scrape on his arm, from a bacterial skin infection that went undetected.
END SEPSIS, The Legacy of Rory Staunton
Rory’s parents, Orlaith and Ciaran Staunton, founded END SEPSIS, the legacy of Rory Staunton in April 2012 after Rory’s tragic death. Their goal is to end the hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths and devastating disabilities that result from sepsis in the U.S. each year. END SEPSIS has successfully spearheaded the most aggressive policy battles and cutting-edge,action-based initiatives to keep families safe and end this public health emergency. END SEPSIS envisions a world where everyone understands sepsis as a medical emergency, recognizes its signs, and can confidently advocate for their own care and the care of others and where patients are met in healthcare settings by medical professionals trained to rapidly recognize and treat sepsis.
Visit endsepsis.org