Grieving Parents Speak Out After Their Healthy Son Dies From Sepsis

Aug 30, 2018

Rory Staunton was 12 when he died of sepsis. Now, his parents are speaking out to make sure it never happens again.

The horror started with just the smallest of cuts. Rory Staunton was a high-energy 12-year-old New York boy playing a game of ball in his gym class. During the game, as he dove for the ball, he tripped and scraped his arm. The gym teacher gave him a bandaid and sent him back to the game. Four days later, Rory Staunton was dead.

The cause of the death was sepsis. This life-threatening condition kills 6 million babies and children every year. Sepsis occurs when the body has an extreme, overpowering reaction to infection. As the immune system battles the infection, a flood of chemicals is released throughout the body. This causes full-body inflammation, which then leads to organ damage. In cases like Rory's, septic shock and severe sepsis can occur. If untreated, this can lead to death.

Rory received medical treatment from a group of doctors, but they didn't connect the dots. They didn't realize that a small scrape on his arm could be causing symptoms like nausea and high fever. Unfortunately, sepsis is a fairly common condition. It's the most common cause of death in hospitals all over the globe. But to treat sepsis correctly, it has to be properly identified. Rory died of septic shock four days after his gym class scrape.

Rory's mother said she was astounded after the death. She was certain the condition must be rare, because she hadn't known about sepsis before. Rory was almost six feet tall and weighed 160 pounds. She says it's shocking to find that sepsis is the largest killer of children all over the world.

There are a variety of sepsis symptoms. It will typically present with body temperatures higher than 101 Fahrenheit, or alternatively below 96.8 Fahrenheit. Heart rates may climb to higher than 90 beats per minute, and respiration may be higher than 20 breaths each minute. When severe sepsis sets in, patients tend to experience decreased urine output, decreased platelet count, abnormal pumping function of the heart, abdominal pain, fast changes in mental status, and difficulty breathing.

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It's shocking that something could kill such a healthy, vibrant child so quickly. Do you have any experiences with sepsis? Pass this on to your friends and loved ones to warn them of the possible danger.