RCS Speaker Meeting December 3, 2024

The meeting on December 3rd began with a committee update from Youth Chair David Richardson and Youth Committee and Peace Committee member Rohit. David shared about the Interact training that took place at school the previous weekend. Rohit shared about the presentation of the Positive Peace Course to Interactors. It was wonderful to see the leaders of tomorrow showing their dedication to service, and we commend David for all his hard work with the Interactors. Rohit also had good news all the Interactors signed up for the Positive Peace Course.

Then Rotarians had the experience of hearing one of the most powerfully emotional talks that there has ever been at our meetings. Our speaker, Kerstin Kieser, shared a very moving story of how close she came to death contracting the disease Sepsis. It all began when Kerstin wanted to prove to her son that he had nothing to fear from a needle. In the process, she transferred bacteria from him to herself and contracted this awful disease.

Kerstin shared the process of the disease taking hold of her – how it began with a fever and ended with her ICU. As she told how close she came to dying, she became overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry. It was evident how frightening an experience was for her. Rotarians began to give her a round of applause as a clear signal of how much we appreciated her bravery in standing before and retelling this tale. It takes guts to relive the moment you came close to death in front of a group of people. Kerstin demonstrated her courage in spades.

Kerstin’s talk also gave us a greater appreciation for the Chinese health system. She was told that if this had occurred in her home country of Germany, she would likely have died. This is because Sepsis wouldn’t have been detected as quickly as in China. She detailed how she was lucky not to lose her arms and legs. This experience has made Kerstin very alert to maintaining good health. She gave us solid advice centering around never letting bacteria into the body, which included the importance of always disinfecting a wound and treating it straight away, including a cat’s scratch.

There has hardly ever been a talk at our meeting that garnered so many questions. Rotarians were in awe of Kerstin and wanted to know more and more. Having come out the other side, Kerstin is a woman with a mission – to educate and prevent others from catching this disease. Rotarians all felt very privileged to have had the experience of hearing this unique story from a very brave woman.

Written by Secretary Rohit Ballal