The parents of a 14-year-old boy were forced to make the heartbreaking decision to amputate all of their son’s hands and feet after common flu-like symptoms suddenly turned fatal.
Mathias Uribe, of Tennessee, was hospitalized at Monroe Carrel Jr. Children’s Hospital. at Vanderbilt for more than two months after he was rushed to the hospital with a fatal illness on June 30.
He was diagnosed with pneumonia and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and suffered a heart attack, WSMV reported.
Mathias was placed on ECMO [extracorporeal membrane oxygenation] machine, which kept blood pumping throughout his body for two weeks, allowed his heart and lungs to rest. It saved his life, but not enough blood flowed to his leg, forcing doctors to remove it, the teenager’s father said.
Tennessee teenager Mathias Uribe had his hands removed at the wrists and his legs removed below the knees.WKYT
His hands were removed at the wrists and his legs were removed from below the knees.
The Mathias family hopes their son, who runs cross country, plays soccer and plays the piano, will soon be able to leave the hospital with a new prosthetic limb.
“I told him that we will be your hands and feet until we figure this all out,” his father, Edgar Uribe, told the outlet.
Catarina and Edgar Uribe are confident that their child will thrive with the help of prosthetics.WKYT
Dr Katie Boyle, ICU pediatrician and leader of Mathias’ care team, said that there was nothing Mathias’ parents could have done to save their son’s arms and legs from amputation.
“It’s very rare,” he said, of Mathias’ deteriorating condition. “Sometimes when you get a cold, it gives you a bacterial infection. But even then, most kids don’t get nearly as sick as Mathias.”
Parents should get their kids a cold shot and check them regularly when they’re sick for symptoms like high fever, trouble swallowing fluids, or an inability to wake up from a deep sleep — which should trigger a trip to the hospital, Boyle said.
Mathias was an athlete and played the piano before undergoing the life-changing procedure.WKYT
Mathias has undergone more than a dozen surgeries to date. He is expected to stay in the hospital for another month, his parents said.
They said they are now looking for a place in Atlanta where he will receive prosthetics and begin rehabilitation.
“You will have an amazing life,” Catalina Uribe said she told her son. “You are going to MIGT. You will do whatever you want to do. You have no limits because you are here Mathias, you are here.”
The Uribes launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $235,000 to help cover the teenager’s medical costs
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
