Indiana Boy, 2, Has Limbs Amputated Due to Rare Bacterial Illness

A 2-year-old boy lost his limbs after battling a mystery bacterial illness in Indiana, and his mother recalled taking the boy and his siblings to a park in September.

Ashley Cox said her son, Jeremiah, had a fever the day after the park visit. She took him to Riley Children’s Hospital as his health began to get worse, Fox59 reported. Purple spots, she said, appeared on his body.

Nicholas Thompson, the father of the boy, told the news outlet that doctors said it was a symptom of purpura, but doctors couldn’t pinpoint what type of bacteria it is.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine said purpura is the appearance of purple discolorations on the skin, related to bleeding beneath the skin. “Purpura is the appearance of red or purple discolorations on the skin that do not blanch on applying pressure. They are caused by bleeding underneath the skin,” the agency said.

The doctors realized that Jeremiah was in septic shock and they had to act fast.

“And septic shock really we talk about the golden hour,” Dr. Alyson Baker told Fox 59, saying it was septic shock. “One hour from the time you get sick to get those antibiotics in so that you need fewer things down the road.”

The report said that doctors then gave him the antibiotics. “If they didn’t give it to him my boy wouldn’t be here,” Cox told Fox59. “So, Riley really saved our son.”

The damage was already done, however. Doctors were forced to amputate below both knees and elbows, the report stated.

“One day my son could be the top designer of prosthetic legs and arms because he went through this,” Thompson told Fox 59 about the boy’s condition. “He can do anything in his lifetime. This might stop him now, but I think the future can be bright for him.”

The family set up a GoFundMe page for the boy.

Part of the post on the GoFundMe page reads: “One of their daughters is only a few weeks old; Ashley gave birth while her baby boy was fighting for his life. They have a long road ahead of them, and life doesn’t just pause when a tragedy happens.”

Upsurge in New, Polio-Like Virus

There has been a recent upsurge in cases of a rare polio-like illness across the United States, and it affects mainly children (as seen in the top video).

The virus, known as Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) can cause a sudden weakness in the limbs and potentially paralysis.

There have been a “substantially larger number” of suspected AFM cases reported in August, September, and October, compared to previous months in 2018, the CDC website warns.

So far, according to the most recent update, there have been 191 reports of the virus across 24 states.

“AFM is a very rare condition. It is also a serious condition. We want to encourage parents to seek medical care right away if you or your child develops symptoms of AFM, such as sudden weakness and loss of muscle tone in your arms or legs,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, a CDC doctor, said on Oct. 17 in a press briefing.