Injured Senior Podcast
Laura Williams: Sepsis Survivor Stories
Episode Notes
About Laura Williams: She is the host of the podcast, Sepsis Survivor Stories. She is herself a Sepsis survivor and she was just minutes away from death. She interviews other sepsis survivors on her show. Laura is an experienced podiatrist. She's a graduate of the University of Brighton and educates health professionals on Sepsis.
In this episode, Steve and Laura discuss:
1. What was it that motivated you to start the Surviving Sepsis Stories podcast?
- Sepsis Survivor Stories actually came about because I just wanted to make a difference. I have been on a number of Facebook groups, and I connected with a few people and a number of people said that they felt really alone afterward and that it was a very isolating experience. I felt that after I got home and there was no help and that is a very common occurrence.
2. Did you have the experience of feeling alone, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder?
- Very much so and at the moment, I'm actually dealing with a lot. I've been wearing face masks and it's having the same effect as wearing an oxygen mask. Oxygen is really important when it comes to sepsis.
3. Was that the reason why you started the podcast because you just wanted there to be sepsis awareness?
- I think both. I've always been an education kind of person. A few years ago, I published a book on diabetes and at that point, I was really into my diabetes education. When I was in University, my dissertation was on health education, and it's always been a massive passion of mine. The funny thing was the Christmas before my Sepsis experience, I wanted to write a blog on Sepsis, but I didn't know how to start. So I started it while I was in the hospital.
4. In Sepsis Survivor Stories. there's an episode with Diane Burnett, who is an American retired school teacher, who developed Sepsis from a urinary tract infection. Tell us about her.
- It's all about the one thing I always think is, how amazing everybody's stories are. And the similarities to where everybody is, they needed to actually get to the hospital, ASAP, because the time is key when it comes to sepsis. Like 30 million people a year have Sepsis, and 11 million people die. And this is worldwide, one in five deaths worldwide, because of sepsis. Like COVID, you've got pneumonia, you've got a UTI, you've got meningitis, they all can come into Sepsis. For me, it's something that I know that I survived for a reason and if I can save one person's life, I've done a good job. This is the one thing that I kind of get from the podcasts that I've done already. Everybody else is also feeling that feeling of gratitude and feeling of giving back and actually wanting to save somebody else because they don't want other families to go through what they've done, what they've had to go through and it can be tough, but like when it comes to it, a urinary tract infection, people just think, go to the doctors, get some antibiotics, but when it comes to a lot of people, they're just like, “Oh, okay. I'm not well, but I need to get on with life and I'm I was very much like that as well”. If it doesn't feel right, you need to seek help, because it might not be right.
5. Are toe amputation a result of Sepsis?
- As a complication, you can get blood clots in the extremities. I've met quite a few people who have had to have legs amputated, hands amputated, and it is heartbreaking.
6. So you are now the unofficial world ambassador for Sepsis awareness and education?
7. You have an online course, right?
- Yes. So with that, I go over what is Sepsis, the signs, and symptoms. I also talked about Sepsis six, which is available in 20 different countries. Whereas in some states, it is part of the procedure, but not in all states. There is a petition to make it to be mandated in every single state in America.
8. What is Sepsis six?
- It's a framework to basically help save lives. It's about making sure that you get a senior clinician. Having your blood taken, IV put in. So being on oxygen, being on IV having fluids monitoring your urine levels, because when it comes to Sepsis, you need to ensure that you monitor your urine levels because lack of urination means that your kidneys are doing something funky.
9. Does Sepsis usually come after infection?
- Yes. So it always starts with the localized infection and then basically, it takes over the body. So it's a massive inflammatory response and then all hell breaks loose, basically.
10. What are other things you talk about in your online courses?
- When it comes to the online courses, I'm also talking about post sepsis syndrome, which is something that a lot of healthcare professionals actually don't know a lot about as well. So this is something that affects 40% of all survivors. So if you're thinking 19 million survivors each year worldwide, that's 7.6 million people each year having lasting effects
"If you suspect you or a loved one has sepsis go to the ER and if they want to send you home, insist that they do more tests." — Laura Williams
A World Sepsis Day Virtual Launch Event: The 10th of September at 7pm. British Standard Time
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Connect with Laura Williams:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurawilliams.sepsiseducator/
Show: Sepsis Survivor Stories at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sepsis-survivor-stories/id1521453294
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Laura+Williams%2C+sepsis%2C+education%2C+Worthing%2C+Sussex
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-williams-6b028b79/
Email: laura.sepsisedducator@gmail.com
CONNECT WITH STEVE H. HEISLER:
Website: www.injuredseniorhotline.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/attorneysteveheisler/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-law-offices-of-steven-h.-heisler/about/ Email: info@injuredseniorhotline.com
Show notes by Podcastologist: Kristen Braun
Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.