A pregnant mother whose baby died from sepsis has made a heartbreaking video hoping to raise awareness of the condition.
Melissa Mead’s one-year-old son William died on 14 December 2014.
In June 2015, a coroner revealed he had died from sepsis (blood poisoning), caused by a chest infection he had in the weeks before he died, which could have been treatable.
In the video, Mead holds up a series of cards explaining her story and addresses the heartbreaking realisation that her son William will never meet his younger sibling, due this month.
“I will never have a picture of them together,” Mead wrote. “Because William lives in heaven now and and they will never meet.”
She believes more parents need to be aware of sepsis, as it is a lot more common than many people think.
She referenced a statistic from Sepsis Trust: Every 3.5 seconds, someone dies from sepsis. If caught early enough, antibiotics are all that are required.
“With better funding and awareness, we can stop the avoidable deaths in the UK every year,” Mead continued.
“I promised William I would raise as much awareness of Sepsis as I could.
“So I’m asking you to help me keep my promise.”
The NHS states around 31,000 people die every year as a result of the condition.
Within three days of Mead posting the video on Sunday 11 September, it had been shared nearly 500,000 times and had 10 million views.
Mead encouraged people to donate to The Sepsis Trust through her JustGiving page. For more information on sepsis, visit NHS Choices.
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