2024 Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award Winners

For the first time since its creation in 2016, Sepsis Alliance is proud to announce that there are two 2024 Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award recipients:  Jackie Duda and Julia Fraser. Both Jackie and Julia are sepsis survivors who continue to navigate their lives with the life-altering impact of sepsis, a condition they knew little about until it nearly claimed their lives.  

Meet Jackie 

Jackie had been living for several years with autoimmune disorders that impacted her everyday life. But it was only when she developed a perforated bowel and was rushed to the hospital that she first heard of sepsis, in the emergency room. Jackie was intubated and placed on a respirator while her doctors and many other healthcare professionals fought to keep her alive.  

After her recovery, Jackie was left with post-sepsis syndrome (PSS). Among other symptoms, she experienced panic, depression, PTSD, and physical weakness. It took months before she was able to walk and perform her daily activities again.  

Meet Julia 

Julia was 18 when she contracted a urinary tract infection (UTI). She woke up one morning feeling the coldest she’d ever felt. She was trembling so hard, her brother thought she had a seizure. Her family called 911. After Julia was admitted to the hospital, the doctors told her that had she not gone to the hospital when she did, she would have died within the following 12 hours. “I had no idea what sepsis was,” Julia said. Like Jackie, Julia developed PSS, which she continues to live with. 

Turning Pain into Purpose 

Both Jackie and Julia took their experience with sepsis and PSS and transformed their personal battles into powerful advocacy efforts.  

“I was living in a world where I wasn’t really sure I belonged anymore,” Jackie said. “I didn’t know why I survived. It was really hard.” Jackie was crying a lot, unable to complete tasks she performed so easily before she became ill. But after time and with a lot of hard work, she got stronger. “I started to feel better to the point that I could do those little things. I had been in a couple of peer support sessions with Sepsis Alliance and I started to build upon the advocacy there.” 

 Jackie ended up leveraging her experience as a teacher, a career she’d loved, to reach out to different organizations to share her sepsis story, to educate others. As a journalist, her advocacy also extends to writing articles for local and national outlets, and participating in legislative efforts to raise sepsis awareness, as well as awareness of antimicrobial resistance, a growing problem in medicine.​ 

Julia also struggled during her recovery. “I had no idea what just happened to me, and I think that’s what I struggled with so severely for about two and a half years, just figuring out what my body was going through, why it was going through it, and seeing a variety of things that I couldn’t pinpoint,” she explained.  “I had very few resources.” 

 As Julia navigated her own healing, she began her advocacy work. Aside from securing proclamations at city and state levels and aiming for national recognition of sepsis awareness, Julia turned her sights to pageantry and became Mrs. Frisco International 2024 and then Mrs. Texas American. Julia’s goal is to become Mrs. America and she believes that this unique platform would help bring even more sepsis awareness to a national level. 

The Impact of Winning the Award 

The Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award acknowledges not only a recipient’s past advocacy work but helps fuel future initiatives. For Julia, the award provided validation and support for her ongoing work and will allow her to compete in national pageants where she could further highlight sepsis awareness. The award’s recognition reinforces her belief in the importance of her advocacy and encourages her to continue striving for national proclamations​. 

Jackie, who was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the fast-paced world of activism, found the award gave her a much-needed boost. It meant that her efforts were making a difference. She plans on continuing her education outreach through more articles and sepsis talks, focusing on reaching as many people as possible to prevent future cases of sepsis. Her work has already saved lives – she’s received calls from people who recognized sepsis symptoms in others after they heard Jackie talk.  

Both Jackie and Julia feel a deep sense of purpose from their advocacy work. “I found what defined me was my passion to help other people like me, because I needed someone like me when I was going through this,” Julia said. 

Jackie finds solace and meaning in her advocacy, so important after the isolation and confusion she felt during her recovery. She wants to spare others from similar experiences.  

A Legacy of Hope and Awareness 

Jackie and Julia both exemplify the spirit of the Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award through their tireless efforts to raise sepsis awareness and educate the public. Their advocacy helps them heal. It also might prevent others not only from getting sepsis, but their families from having to watch them be so sick. Julia remembers hearing Sepsis Alliance Founder Carl Flatley speak of losing Erin. Julia asked her father what he would have done if he had lost her to sepsis. “He said he would have lost himself. I will always do this work for people like Dr. Flatley, because I think about my own dad in that situation.”