My name is Leah Ramsey.

For three months I was in Australia, I saw my local GP twice a week. I had fever, night sweats, fatigue, joint pain, dizziness, blackouts, nausea, and symptoms that felt like recurring flu. I was frequently having my blood tested and repeatedly showed significantly elevated inflammatory markers. Not once in three months was a blood culture ordered.

-

I moved to America and I was diagnosed with infective endocarditis — a bacterial infection of my heart valve. I was treated with intravenous antibiotics and underwent open heart surgery. I nearly died from a condition that a single, simple, inexpensive test could have identified months earlier. 

-

A blood culture is not a complicated or expensive test. It is not new technology. It is a basic diagnostic step that, in my case, was never taken — despite the warning signs already being visible in my blood work.

-

Every year, thousands of people suffer from undiagnosed bloodstream infections that could be easily identified if blood cultures were mandated for patients exhibiting elevated inflammatory markers. Inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are common indicators of inflammation in the body. When these markers are high, it warrants further investigation—the kind that blood cultures provide.

Infective endocarditis is just one of the potential life-threatening conditions that can be uncovered through this testing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bloodstream infections have a high mortality rate if left untreated. They are responsible for approximately 270,000 deaths in the United States annually, a significant number of which occur due to delayed diagnosis. This is not just an oversight; it is a preventable tragedy.

Doctors and hospitals have the tools to address this gap in healthcare. Blood cultures should be a standard response to elevated inflammatory markers, especially considering they are both cost-effective and clinically recommended. A single test, costing a fraction of hospital and surgical expenses, could save lives, prevent long-term health complications, and reduce healthcare costs overall.

Join me in advocating for these necessary changes in the medical protocol. Stand with me to prevent needless suffering and save lives. Sign my petition to call for the mandatory implementation of blood cultures for patients with elevated inflammatory markers. Together, we can help ensure no one else has to face the fear or trauma of my experience.