Bill Pullman in Berlin: Together with the Global Sepsis Alliance and the Sepsis Foundation in the fight against sepsis and AMR

One of the most important moments of the visit was when Bill Pullman spoke with a sepsis patient currently being treated in the intensive care unit at Charité. The encounter highlighted the enormous personal consequences of sepsis and gave Pullman a deeper understanding of the enormous challenges faced by both patients and medical staff in acute treatment and rehabilitation due to the multiple organ damage caused by sepsis.

Bill Pullman also took this opportunity to talk to Prof. Michael Booke, who, as Chief Physician for Anesthesia, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, has taken over the medical and scientific management of a sepsis pioneer region in the Main-Taunus-Kreis (MTK). This society-wide approach to reducing sepsis mortality is supported by the District Administrator of the MTK as patron and the Minister President of Hesse has also welcomed this initiative. Bill Pullman was impressed by the fact that all of the more than 40 ambulances in the MTK are now displaying posters to spread the message that sepsis, like strokes and heart attacks, is an emergency. In addition, Prof. Booke has reached over 1,000 people through training measures in schools, hospitals, paramedics and first responders.

The day ended with a reception for the active supporters of the symposium and the filming, which was co-hosted by Prof. Reinhart. Here Bill Pullman held further discussions with sepsis survivors and their relatives and sepsis experts from science and the research industry. A special highlight was the musical performance by pianist Arne Trumann, who had to learn to play the piano again after losing several fingers to sepsis, as part of a piano battle with one of the symposium speakers Dr. Jörn Vollert, who is also a passionate jazz pianist.

This was followed by the international symposium "Overcoming Silos by Synergizing the Fight Against Sepsis and AMR" at the Berlin Museum of Medical History, where Bill Pullman explained in his opening speech why he is committed to raising awareness and taking more effective action in the fight against sepsis and AMR.

This symposium, organized by the Sepsis Foundation and the Global Sepsis Alliance and supported by Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Medical Society, the German Health Alliance and the Virchow Foundation. It brought together leading scientists, policy makers, sepsis survivors, relatives and representatives of innovative biotech and IT companies. The importance of integrating sepsis into national and international health strategies was presented. Particular attention was paid to the role of innovative technologies for the early detection and treatment of sepsis using biomarkers, AI tools and innovative immunomodulatory therapies. The discussions showed that interdisciplinary collaboration and technological innovation are crucial to reduce sepsis mortality worldwide.



We would like to express our deep gratitude to the sepsis survivors and family members of those who have tragically lost their lives to sepsis and are now deeply committed to the fight against sepsis. Bill Pullman and symposium attendees had the opportunity to witness the moving and life-changing stories of survivors who have turned into powerful voices and actions in Germany, the UK and Belgium. Participants included:

- Youssef Kdami, father of a 2-year-old son who had to undergo a quadruple amputation following meningococcal sepsis - Uwe Wiermann, sepsis survivor and multiple amputee who died as a result of sepsis triggered by a prostate biopsy. He is the regional director of the state association for people with arm and or leg amputations in NRW - Simon Seyfarth, who became a three-time German para-athletics champion and active footballer after having his leg amputated following numerous surgical procedures - Mariah McKimbrough, who had to give up her career as a musical singer due to a severe physical disability caused by sepsis - Arne Trumann, pianist, who lost several fingers to sepsis and had to relearn to play the piano - Ilse Malfait, who lost her legs due to a delayed diagnosis of sepsis, wrote a book and became a driving force behind the Belgian National Sepsis Plan - Merope Mills, who successfully campaigned for the introduction of "Martha's Rule" in the UK following the tragic and preventable death of her daughter. This rule allows patients and relatives to seek a second opinion within the hospital if the patient's condition deteriorates and they suspect that this is not being adequately addressed during treatment - Kerstin Martensen, who lost her son to sepsis due to a delayed diagnosis and is campaigning to raise awareness of sepsis in her home town of Jülich in cooperation with the local hospital and does not understand why there is no National Sepsis Plan in Germany, Sylvia Wiermann, who accompanied her husband through weeks of coma and multiple organ failure - Marion Pfeiffer, whose husband is now dependent on permanent intensive care at home after several periods of sepsis and became the initiator of the sepsis pioneer region in the MTK.

Bill Pullman then continued his sepsis and AMR related documentary with a visit to the German Bundestag. He met with Prof. Andrew Ullmann, the founding Chair of the Global Health Sub-Committee of the Bundestag Health Committee and Chapter Chair for Western and Central Europe of the UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health. During this meeting, he discussed with Bill Pullman and Mariam Jashi the important role of parliamentarians in shaping global and national policy on issues such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and sepsis and the importance of the launch of the Global Agenda 2030 for Sepsis in the Bundestag, on September 10, 2024, which Professor Ullmann had facilitated.

Another highlight of the visit was Bill Pullman's interview with Mariah McKimbrough, Art Director of the Sepsis Foundation. She shared her personal experience with sepsis, which she experienced multiple times, endured more than 50 surgeries, and after meeting Prof. Konrad Reinhart, who has been instrumental in advancing sepsis research and advocacy in Germany and internationally, decided to dedicate her work to increasing sepsis knowledge as a key prerequisite to reducing preventable deaths from sepsis.