"Mom, they've given up on me", "Mom I'm so scared and I don't want to die".

I can hear his voice saying these desperate sentences over and over again. It's like it's burned into my memory. I drove home in the evening, paralyzed. The doctor had tried to reassure Jann and me. Everything was fine with his body, he just needed to eat and drink better and his confusion was probably caused by his hospital trauma and he would be better at home, the doctor said. As I write these sentences now, I feel this endless despair, as I so often do. These were all signs of sepsis and I didn't know it. I simply didn't know. I should have screamed for help. "Help, he has all the signs of sepsis!" But I didn't and Jann paid with his life.

The next morning we received a call that Jann's circulation could not be stabilized and he was being transferred to the intensive care unit. Jann was barely responsive, but his wordless, constant tears showed his desperation and fear. It took over two hours for all the equipment to be connected. The doctor in charge of intensive care informed us of his diagnosis: "High grade sepsis". They had put Jann into an induced coma and they didn't know if he would survive the night.

Jann then died at 4.47 am.

We couldn't talk to him anymore, we couldn't take away his fear. We had all lost him. He was supposed to come home the next day and wait for his operation. That was his wish, but he never came home again.

Why is sepsis not treated for what it is - the most preventable cause of death in the world?

After Jann's death, his mother, Kerstin Martensen, turned to the public and politicians. She spoke to members of the Bundestag, even to Health Minister Prof. Dr. Karl Lauterbach, and asked the central question:"Why is there no effective national strategy against sepsis - even though it kills around 190 people in Germany every day?"The response: consternation. But no clear answers.

Kerstin Martensen calls for concrete measures instead of mere sympathy: "It's not nearly enough! What else has to happen before something changes? Would you talk like this if it had been your child?"

"Jülich arms itself against sepsis" - education where knowledge saves lives

To make Jann's voice heard and save other lives, she launched the "Jülich arms itself against sepsis " campaign - a local initiative with a big impact. The aim is to raise public awareness of sepsis, educate people about the symptoms and build political pressure.

🔗 About the campaign in Jülich

The website was created at the same time: 🔗 www.jann-190.de

"190" stands for the approximately 190 people who could be saved every day, out of the 380 people who die of sepsis in Germany every day.The website contains Jann's story, information about sepsis, offers of help and ways to take action.

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**"Listen to Jann's appeal!" - Kerstin Martensen's appeal

"I can't bring my son back. But I can make his voice heard. Jann wanted to live. And he could have lived - with more knowledge, more attention and a better healthcare system."

- Get informed. Recognize the symptoms - Demand effective measures from politicians - Sepsis is a medical emergency - every minute counts - No more children, no more people should die because no one recognizes the signs.