The Staunton family from Queens, who lost their 12-year-old son Rory in April of 2012 to undiagnosed sepsis, has begun a new campaign to coordinate with Sepsis Awareness Month in September. The Rory Staunton Foundation, which the Stauntons founded in the months after their son’s death, will host a sepsis forum in Washington, D.C. on September 17. It will be the first ever national forum that will highlight sepsis.
Rory is survived by his mother Orlaith, a native of Drogheda, Co. Louth, father Ciaran, from Westport, Co. Mayo, and younger sister Kathleen. The foundation that the family founded maintains a regular social media presence, and the Stauntons are determined to eliminate deaths from undiagnosed sepsis.
Orlaith Staunton posted a heart-rending post on Facebook last weekend outlining the family’s continued agony over Rory’s loss. It reads:
My son Rory lies in a lonely grave in Ireland.
It’s hard to write these words but it is true. Rory lies in a grave in my hometown of Drogheda in St. Peter's Cemetery.
He is buried with his nana and granddad. We didn’t want him to be alone, and his nana adored him.
My husband Ciaran from Mayo, myself from Louth and our daughter Kathleen from New York went to visit him there last week.
September is Sepsis Awareness Month. Rory is the kid who died in a top New York hospital because his symptoms of sepsis were not recognized.
Read more: My son Rory lies in a lonely grave in Ireland
There is a tiny cross there that bears his name; Rory Staunton, died April 01, 2012, aged 12 years.
People visit his grave all the time, family and friends visit and strangers who have read about his death visit. He is surrounded by love; we are all surrounded by love both here and in Ireland.
There is an American flag and an Irish flag on his grave. Peter Griffin from Family Guy is there, there is a small airplane and from time to time something political shows up.
People find it peaceful there. They say they can feel the love.
This week we spent a lot of time there. One day his dad went there and shared a bottle of Coke, a Yorkie bar and a bag of chips with him. He read him the daily newspaper.
But, we don’t find it peaceful.
We stood together at his grave again this week, his dad and I. We vowed again to our beautiful son that he did not die in vain.
September is Sepsis Awareness Month.
We will be loud, we will be heard and we will remember Rory Staunton, a wonderful human being, who wanted the world to be a better place and who didn’t have to die.
For more information the foundation, visit www.rorystauntonfoundation.com, or the foundation’s Facebook page.
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