'Don’t be afraid to ask': Limerick mother recounts her son's experience of sepsis

Between 2020 and 2023 there were 117 deaths among children from sepsis with 2,891 cases.

Yvonne Young, a mother from Limerick whose son was treated for sepsis two years ago at University Hospital Limerick. Photo: HSE

Have no regrets and always ask for help if you suspect sepsis. That's the advice from a Limerick mother whose son had a “really frightening” experience which started with a simple scratch.

The HSE National Sepsis Summit also heard sepsis patients accounted for 3% of hospital in-patients last year but 24.3% of total deaths. At the event in Dublin, Yvonne Young described how the scratch led to a frightening couple of days.