The Power of a Story - What Happens When We Find the Courage to Share

When Kimberley first shared her healthcare experience on Care Opinion, she probably didn't know how far her story would travel.

She was one of the first people to share a story when Care Opinion launched publicly in Alberta in 2025. Since then, her experience has become part of a much bigger personal journey.

Photo credit: Kimberley Sidhu

Today, Kimberley is using her experience as a sepsis survivor to raise awareness about a condition that changed her life.

She has created her own Instagram page, @thatsepsismom, where she shares her experience and information about sepsis, helping others recognize the signs and understand how serious it can be.

Her advocacy was particularly visible this month.

On Sept. 13, World Sepsis Day, the Calgary Tower was lit up in recognition of the day, joining more than 100 landmarks across Canada. Kimberley was part of the team working to bring the initiative to communities across the country.

Photo credit: ThatSepsisMom

The City of Calgary issued a formal proclamation in recognition of World Sepsis Day on Sept. 13.

Her advocacy has also reached the municipal level, with the mayors of both Calgary and Chestermere issuing formal proclamations recognizing World Sepsis Day in their communities.

For our team at Care Opinion, it has been incredibly meaningful to watch Kimberley’s journey.

When she first shared her story, she was sharing an experience that stayed with her. Today, she is using that experience in a very personal way, raising awareness, starting conversations and helping others recognize the signs of sepsis.

Her journey is also a reminder of why stories matter.

Healthcare feedback is often talked about in terms of surveys, data, reports and themes. But behind every piece of feedback is a person who lived that experience. Someone who remembers what happened, how they felt and what they wish others might understand.

Care Opinion gives people a place to talk about those experiences in their own words.

A story can help recognize what went well. It can highlight something that could have been better. It can give healthcare providers and organizations another perspective on the care they provide and help identify opportunities to learn and improve.

And for the person telling the story, there can be value in simply having the space to tell it.

Putting an experience into words can help someone reflect on what happened and recognize that their experience matters. It may give them the confidence to speak about something that has stayed with them, or to share what they have learned with others.

For Kimberley, that journey continued far beyond the story she first shared.

She has taken what she lived through and turned it into a commitment to raise awareness and help others. Her advocacy is hers. Her voice is hers. Her work to raise awareness of sepsis belongs to her.

We are incredibly proud to have watched that journey unfold, and grateful that Care Opinion was one of the places where she chose to share her story.

Kimberley’s experience reminds us that every story belongs first and foremost to the person who lived it. For some people, sharing may simply be about having their experience heard and knowing it may help a healthcare team understand what matters to patients and families.

For others, it may open the door to something more personal.

In Kimberley’s case, it became part of a much bigger journey as she found her voice as a sepsis advocate.

We are so proud of Kimberley, and grateful that she chose to share her story with Care Opinion.