14-Year-Old US Boy Loses Limbs In Bid To Survive A Rare Bacterial Infection

A 14-year-old boy from the United States underwent amputations of both his hands and feet to save his life when his initially mild flu-like symptoms rapidly escalated into a life-threatening condition. Tennessee-born Mathias Uribe was admitted to the Monroe Carrel Jr Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt on June 30 due to a serious illness. He remained hospitalised for a total of two months.

He was initially diagnosed with pneumonia and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, which quickly progressed to cardiac arrest.

As reported by WSMV, Mathias was placed on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine. This machine played a critical role by maintaining blood circulation throughout his body for a duration of two weeks, affording his heart and lungs the necessary rest.

However, while ECMO proved to be a life-saving measure, it was unable to adequately supply blood to his extremities. Consequently, the medical team made the difficult decision to amputate them.

“That flow wasn’t getting to all of his extremities, so they had to amputate all of his four extremities,” Uribe’s father said.

“I said when we got to the doctors when we came there, ‘Please don’t use the word amputation,'” Uribe’s mother added. “Let’s use ‘remove.'”

“It’s extremely rare,” Dr Katie Boyle, an ICU paediatrician who is the head of Uribe’s care team, said. “Sometimes, when you get the flu, it does set you up for a bacterial infection. But even then, most kids don’t get nearly as sick as Mathias did.”

The parents hold onto the hope that their son, who had been actively involved in cross country running, soccer, and piano playing, will eventually be able to depart from the hospital equipped with new prosthetic limbs.