"On November 9 last year, I received a call that my best friend had passed away suddenly at 40 years old," said Carly Roberts.
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Roberts met Mary Armstrong in college and the two have been best friends for 22 years.
The week before Mary passed away, she didn't feel quite right. Even after a trip to the hospital, Mary was sent home. But her symptoms persisted. And one morning, she did not wake up.
For two months, her family and friends were left with no answers.
"When her autopsy came back, we found out that she died from sepsis," said Roberts.
Sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection, takes the lives of roughly 350,000 adults each year in the United States. This prompted a nationwide effort to declare September "Sepsis Awareness Month" in each state. The Sepsis Alliance has led this charge, reaching 38 out of 50 this year with the help of advocates like Roberts. This includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
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Roberts took on the challenge, writing a note to Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania. She received a proclamation approving her request in return.
"It was really the first time throughout my grief that I felt I was making some kind of difference," said Roberts.
Also in September, the Sepsis Alliance has initiated a global Sepsis Superhero Challenge. Now in its sixth year, the one-mile challenge brings out walkers, runners, swimmers, and more to raise money at their own pace. Roberts has crushed her goal, raising more than $2,300 to contribute to more than $4,300 raised in Mary's name.
Mary's mother, Dorothy Carroll, says that Roberts' friendship and activism has given her a piece of her daughter to hold on to.
"I'm hoping this advocacy will actually put into motion knowledge to people to recognize the symptoms," said Carroll, "And education to the medical community to not just think it is an average infection if somebody walks in the door."
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The proclamation for Sepsis Awareness Month must be renewed every year. It's an annual tradition that Roberts plans to keep up in honor of her best friend.
To learn more about Sepsis and the Sepsis Alliance, visit their website.
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