INDIANAPOLIS -- The odds of contracting this disease are higher than having a heart attack and nearly 3,500 Hoosiers die from it each year. Yet less than 50% of people have ever even heard of Sepsis.
It ended the life of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali and is responsible for more than 250,000 American deaths each year. That's greater than prostate cancer, breast cancer and aides combined.
"I didn't know anything about it and evidently 5 doctors treating my daughter didn't either because it was preventable." Dr. Carl Flatley, Founder of the Sepsis Alliance
Doctor Carl Flatley is an Indiana native, he started the Sepsis Alliance back in 2003 after losing his daughter, Erin, to the disease.
"My daughter was 23 years old, healthy as can be," said Flatley, " [She] went in for a simple outpatient surgery and five days later she was gone."
Sepsis is an overwhelming response by the body to an infection where the body injures its own tissues and organs. it can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and even death. Think of it as friendly fire, but with your immune system working so hard it starts working against you.
Right now -- Sepsis mortality is the most common hospital inpatient discharge besides baby deliveries.
Annette Handy is part of the Indiana Hospital Association -- a group working to educate the state on Sepsis. They will be hosting their first ever rally against Sepsis downtown in the ArtsGarden on September 13.
"It really is bringing Hoosiers together with that greater understanding," said Handy. "And continuing the conversation so we can really all be in the know."
