AFL star relives his sepsis battle to help launch national survey
GWS Giants star Sam Taylor has told of his life-threatening experience with sepsis and has urged other survivors to help set the research agenda for sepsis in Australia.
Shaping Sepsis Care Ambassador Sam Taylor
The National Critical Care Research (NCCR) Collaboration today launched the Shaping Sepsis Care Survey, seeking input from patients, carers and healthcare professionals to ensure impactful research with improved sepsis treatment outcomes.
Taylor was struck down by sepsis in June 2020, the day after a match.
“My back started feeling sore later in the day and then I woke up during the night in agony – I couldn’t move, I couldn’t do anything. I remember being in my bed just crying because I couldn’t move,“ Taylor says.
“It was the worst feeling I’ve ever experienced. I spent 10 days in hospital. I had sepsis, it went into my bloodstream.”
Taylor lost 10kg, carried a limp and missed the rest of the 2020 season before making a remarkable recovery and is now one of the AFL’s finest defenders.
Intensive care doctor and NCCR Chief Investigator, Professor Andrew Udy says Sam’s case is not uncommon but he is one of the lucky ones.
“A patient is admitted to an ICU in Australia every 20 minutes with sepsis so it’s a significant burden on the health system. Almost 25% of these patients might actually die from sepsis. It’s an incredibly traumatic illness and experience for patients and their families,” Prof. Udy says.
“We’re really grateful to Sam for sharing his story and encouraging others to contribute. We'll be working with our partner organisations to reach a broad cross-section of Australians who have been touched by sepsis. We want to know what their key questions are and how we can improve sepsis care in the next decade and beyond.”
The survey is open until 30 August 2025.
Email contact@nccr.au for interview with Prof Andrew Udy, NCCR Chief Investigator.