A father-of-two who nearly died from a life threatening infection is helping to raise awareness of the condition.
Ian Hillier, from Syston, released 200 balloons to mark World Sepsis Day tomorrow (Saturday)
The 42-year-old had never heard of sepsis until June this year when he began to feel as if he might have a touch of flu.
Within 24 hours his upper left arm became painful and a short time later the pain was so intense he was admitted to Leicester Royal Infirmary.
He said: "I was given morphine and don't remember too much after that.
"I was soon drifting in and out of consciousness and my wife said that at one point it seemed touch and go as I was so ill."
Mr Hillier, an interior designer, was in hospital for two weeks and took another two off work to recover.
He said: "I had never heard of sepsis. It can be fatal if it is not diagnosed early.
"I was lucky, mine was caught and it was treated."
The cause of the infection is still not known but Mr Hillier said it could have been down a scratch of cut when he was gardening.
He added: "I didn't even realise I had a cut."
The 200 balloons released at Leicester Royal Infirmary yesterday (Friday) represented the number of lives in Leicestershire that could be saved if sepsis is detected early and properly managed.
The condition, which kills more people than breast cancer in the UK, occurs when an infection starts to overwhelm the body, and can attack key organs such as kidneys, lungs and the heart.
Early symptoms can appear to be flu or pain like a pulled muscle.
Mr Hillier said: "I was delighted to be asked to release the balloons.
"It is so important that we continue to fight this disease which can affect any of us at any time.
John Ashworth, MP for Leicester South, has also backed the balloon launch.
He said: "As sepsis is estimated to cause 37,000 deaths a year, the work of Leicester's hospitals in increasing the recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis is vital."
Leicester's hospitals have introduced a number of initiatives to improve the treatment of patients with sepsis.
The include training nearly 100 members of staff to be "sepsis champions."
Dr John Parker, a consultant anaesthetist at Leicester's hospitals, said: "Our champions will actively promote prompt recognition and treatment of sepsis and ensure it is regarded by all as a medical emergency.
"Treatment within one hour of diagnosis is vital, so clinical staff will also have access to special 'sepsis 6 boxes', which we have developed.
"They contain life saving antibiotics, intravenous fluids and blood culture bottles."
The newly introduced initiatives have already seen significant improvements in sepsis treatment at Leicester's Hospitals.
Last year (2013) 27 per cent of patients received intravenous antibiotics within one hour of developing severe sepsis. For the year so far, this figure has risen to 50 per cent.
