Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton have been on a crusade since they lost their son Rory to Sepsis in 2012.
That crusade has been aimed at saving other parents from the anguish of losing a child to a fatal condition that need not be so if diagnosed early.
The battle for Sepsis awareness is indeed aimed at securing an early diagnosis for any and all ages.
The Stauntons have had a friend in Congress during their campaign in the person of Senator Charles Schumer.
They recently included Joe Biden's White House in that friends list.
The White House recently hosted its first-ever event dedicated to informing the American public about the dangers of Sepsis, this by way of Ciaran and Orlaith's End Sepsis Program.
Orlaith, according to the Irish Times, addressed the U.S. government’s Office of Science and Technology to stress the dangers of the Sepsis crisis, which kills up to 350,000 Americans annually and has left hundreds of thousands of survivors with life-changing disabilities.
According to the Times report, the White House event was designed to bring public and private sector interests together around early Sepsis recognition and treatment, for which the Stauntons and others have long advocated.
Early detection dramatically reduces the numbers of deaths and life-changing outcomes. It follows the publication of an official report to Congress assessing the national threat of sepsis within the United States and its burden on hospital care.
“This event is a major victory for the Sepsis families who have campaigned to have the White House become more proactive on this issue,” said Ciaran Staunton.
“We have intensely lobbied the current and past two administrations to do this . We are gratified that our hard work has finally borne fruit.”
The White House event, continued the Irish Times account, examined how to spread information on early diagnosis and treatment, with a particular focus on at-risk populations including rural American populations, the elderly, and pregnant women.
It is also to review emergent state-based Sepsis programs, including “Rory’s regulations” in the Stauntons’ home state of New York.
Rory's Regulations require immediate checking by hospitals for possible Sepsis. It is the first mandatory protocol treatment program and came into being in 2013. It has saved an estimated 16,000 lives through early detection and successful treatment.
