This Monday, November 3, the Toll Gate community will wear purple to honor the memory of one of our OWN, GIANNA CIRELLA. We will wear PURPLE not only to honor Gianna's memory but also to emphasize the importance of sepsis awareness.
"Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that can occur when you have almost any type of infection. It’s a medical emergency that can cause tissue damage, organ failure, and even death if you don’t get treatment right away. People who have sepsis may experience symptoms like fever, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, lethargy, and difficulty breathing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1.7 million adults in the US develop sepsis each year. Young children and teenagers can also develop sepsis; according to the Sepsis Alliance, more than 18 children in the US die from sepsis each day. In October 2017, 16-year-old Gianna Cirella of Warwick developed sepsis after experiencing a throat infection. She spent 16 days at Hasbro Children’s Hospital before she died on November 1, 2017. After losing Gianna, her family established the Gianna Cirella Memorial Fund, which works to raise awareness of sepsis, provides scholarships, and supplies comfort kits to Hasbro Children’s Hospital for patients’ families. In honor of Sepsis Awareness Month, RIDOH spoke with Gianna’s mother, Tara Cirella, about her work to educate families about sepsis and her advocacy for a new Rhode Island law to increase sepsis education and training for healthcare providers" ("RIDOH Community Spotlight, September 2024." GiStrong, The Gianna Cirella Memorial Fund, 2021, www.gistrong.org/latest-news, Accessed 29 October 2024).
Know the signs because it's all about TIME, an Acronym for Temperature, Infection, Mental decline, and Extremely ill.
Please read the information on the flyers, and then click on the links to the Gianna Cirella Memorial Fund and the RIDOH Community Spotlight, September 2024, as this knowledge could SAVE someone you know or someone you love.