Father of boy who died from sepsis to speak at SDAHO convention

The father of a 12-year-old boy who died after developing sepsis from an elbow scrape in gym class will address the dangers of the body’s life-threatening response to infection at the SDAHO 90th Annual Convention.

Ciaran Staunton, whose son, Rory Staunton, died in 2012, is co-founder of the Rory Staunton Foundation. The organization aims to reduce the number of sepsis-caused deaths through education and outreach aimed at faster diagnosis and effective treatment of sepsis, particularly in children.

He’ll give his talk “Sepsis: A Hidden Crisis Exposed” at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

Ciaran Staunton, a well-known leader in New York’s Irish American community, is the owner of Molly Blooms Restaurant and Bar in Queens and O’Neill’s Bar and Restaurant in Manhattan. He is determined to change the way sepsis is treated by those in power, and seeks to ensure that all parents know about the biggest killer of children in the world. Staunton believes that knowledge is power, and that knowledge would have saved his son.

Sepsis kills more than 258,000 Americans each year. It is the leading cause of death for infants and children around the world, despite the fact that early diagnosis followed by broad spectrum antibiotics and IV fluids is all that is required to save a life.