A MOTHER who made an emotional video warning of the dangers of sepsis after her baby son died of the condition, has seen it go viral.
Melissa Mead tells the story on film of how one-year-old William died after medics failed to spot he had sepsis.
In three days, more than 11 million people have watched the heartfelt clip.
Ms Mead, of Penryn, Cornwall, told the Press Association that she was "stunned" that so many people had seen the clip and donated more than £20,000 to the Sepsis Trust.
The 29-year-old is now expecting her second child, due later this month.
In the emotional video, where she wells up with tears a number of times, she holds up cards which read: "Hello my name is Melissa and I am the mother of two children.
"This is my son William, affectionately known as Grumpus.
"And here is his little sibling, due in September 2016.
"I will never have a picture of them together...
"Because William lives in heaven now, and they will never meet.
"William died from sepsis.
"William suffered with a chest infection and pneumonia in the weeks leading to his death.
"Just 17 days after his first birthday, William died from sepsis. I found him in his cot. My baby was gone.
"No one mentioned sepsis before William died. The first time I saw the word sepsis was on William's death certificate.
"I thought that must be rare. But I quickly learned that it is not rare.
"Sepsis is the body's response to an infection. It injures its own tissues and organs. It leads to shock, multiple organ failure and death.
"Every 3.5 seconds someone in the world dies from sepsis.
"It happens regularly and does not discriminate, it spares no ethnic group, no social class, no age or geographic region.
"It is the most common pathway to death due to an infection and kills more people than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined.
"Did you know that it is the biggest cause of death of pregnant women in the UK? No, me either.
"Did you know that sepsis can be caused by chest infections, urinary tract infections (UTI's), burns, stings or bites to name a few? No, me either.
"If caught early enough antibiotics and fluids are all that is required. It costs just £90 to save a life from sepsis.
"Would you pay £90 to save your loved ones life? I thought so.
"With better funding and awareness we can stop 14,000 avoidable deaths in the UK every year.
"I promised William that I would raise as much awareness of sepsis as I could. This month is sepsis awareness month.
"So I'm asking you to help me keep my promise, it's really very simple.
"1. Tell people that September is sepsis awareness month. 2.Tell someone about William and some of the facts you have learned today.
"3. Go to sepsistrust.org to learn how you can get involved in the fight.
"And to help save lives text: SEPS77 with your amount: £2, £5 to: 70070.
"Sepsis stole William's life. He will never say his first words, never have a first day at school, get married or have children. He did not deserve that.
"My hope is that no other family has to lose their child, parent or friend to sepsis when it could have been avoided. This is William's legacy
"I will continue to fight for as long as I am William's mummy... forever.
"Thank you for watching this video and learning about William and this very important cause."
Ms Mead told the Press Association: "As it is sepsis awareness month, I wanted to show what the reality of sepsis really looks like.
"When we close the door at the end of the day, William is still not there and this is something we are forced to live with. That is what sepsis can do. I simply do not want any other family to endure what we do."
Earlier this year, a report into the death of 12-month-old William criticised GPs, out-of-hours services and a 111 call handler who failed to spot he had sepsis caused by an underlying chest infection and pneumonia.
