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Mathias Uribe was a cross-country runner, soccer player and pianist with his whole life ahead of him.
The 14-year-old loved sports but now he no longer has hands, or legs, to participate in them.
In June, Mathias, from Tennessee in the US, was hospitalised with flu-like symptoms and was soon diagnosed with pneumonia and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), a rare bacterial disease that can cause low blood pressure, organ failure and death.
He spent two weeks on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine that pumped blood throughout his body so his strained heart and lungs could rest.
His lead doctor, Katie Boyle, said they'd tried everything to avoid amputating his hands and legs, but it had to be done to save his life.
Those extremities were not getting enough blood, she explained.
“That blood flow wasn’t getting to all of his extremities, so they had to amputate all of his four extremities,” Mathias’ father, Edgar Uribe, said.“I said to the doctors, ‘Please don’t use the word amputation’,” Mathias’ mother, Catalina, said.
“Let’s use ‘remove’.”
In July, both of Mathias' hands were removed above the wrist. His left leg was removed above the knee, and his right one just below the knee.
Mathias' case was "extremely rare", Dr Boyle said.
“Sometimes when you get the flu it does set you up for a bacterial infection. But even then, most kids don’t get as sick as Mathias did.”
The doctor said there was nothing Edgar and Catalina could've done to prevent their son’s amputation.
She suggests that parents ensure their kids get flu shots, and that they monitor their children when they are sick to see if they get a high fever, are unable to drink fluids or can't wake up. For now, Mathias remains in hospital and his parents hope he will be discharged in a month, and they will be taking him for rehabilitation and therapy to help him adjust.
The teen's family is hopeful that he will leave the hospital with prosthetic limbs, and told their son, "We are going to be your arms and legs until we figure all of this out."
It's been hard for the family to watch videos of his sporting activities since he got sick, but they are grateful he's still alive.
“You are going to have an amazing life,” his mother said.
“You are going to do whatever you want to do. You don’t have limits because you are here, Mathias. You are here.”
Experts say they do not know how nearly half of everyone who has had streptococcal toxic shock syndrome contracted the disease.
Bacteria can enter the body through openings in the skin, or through the mucous membranes in the nose and throat.
Symptoms
- Fever and chills
- Muscle aches
- Nausea and vomiting.
After the first symptoms start, it usually takes a day or two for low blood pressure to develop, followed by other dangerous symptoms such as
- Tachycardia, an abnormally rapid heart rate
- Tachypnoea, or rapid breathing, and
- Organ failure.
Treatment
The syndrome is treated with antibiotics, and patients must be hospitalised as they often need fluids to be administered intravenously, as well as other treatments to treat shock and organ failure.
Many people will also need surgery to remove infected tissue or limbs. Tissue removal can cause severe scars.
SOURCES: NEWYORKPOST.COM, WSMV.COM, CDC.GOV, GOFUNDME.COM, PEOPLE.COM
