Spreading the Word

A flurry of activity has been going on behind the scenes regarding the publication of my next Ebook. 

My challenge has been to find a way to explain it so that it doesn’t come across as too earnest and, well, boring, because the topic is dead serious but the Ebook is not. There are so many diseases and fundraisers and personal stories and each one of them is worth talking about but it can become overwhelming. Titled, My Sepsis Story, the Ebook is scheduled for release on March 10th, but it might be earlier. I’m just waiting for the cover art. Explaining about my bout with sepsis four years ago is my way of spreading the word about this illness in the hope that increased awareness will lead to fewer victims. There’s nothing so gross in it that you can’t continue eating a sandwich, although I do invite readers to put the sandwich down at one point, out of respect for my brother, who seems to be extra queasy about some of the details!

Last week, I had a conference call with a couple of the leading members of the World Sepsis Alliance in London, England. One of them had asked to read my book and they liked it very much. It’s not an oh-poor-me story nor is it maudlin or overrun with medical jargon. It actually has some humour and I tried to just tell it like it was. I’m going to join with the Alliance as it works toward convincing the World Health Organization that September 13 should be declared World Sepsis Day. There are a lot of medical groups, scientists, professors and survivors like me from all over the world behind the Alliance and still, their polling shows only 19% of Canadians know about sepsis. In the US it’s 49% and in other countries it’s as low as 6 or 7%.

Sepsis is more common than cancer and kills more people than heart attacks. It has no socio-economic preferences. It’s as deadly in Canada as it is in West Africa or India or Mexico. It is just insane to me that we as a people know so little about it. And had I listened to the medical advice I received, I wouldn’t be here now. This has to change. I’m excited about being able to help with something I feel so much passion for – saving lives.