26 November 2023 , 22:08
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A teen athlete had to have both his hands and lower legs amputated after developing a 'flu-like' disease which baffled doctors.
Mathias Uribe was a healthy 14-year-old student looking forward to joining the cross country team the following academic year. That all changed in June this year when he developed flu-like symptoms, including a high fever.
As his condition worsened his worried parents rushed him to their local hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, where the severity of his condition became apparent. The previously healthy teen went into cardiac arrest.
"He just all of a sudden went into cardiac arrest, and he went into cardiac arrest for about six minutes," dad Edgar Uribe told ABC. "We were asked to step out of the room. The doctors all rushed into the room try to get his vital signs."
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Mathias' heartbroken parents (4)Doctors thankfully managed to revive him and he was taken to a specialist hospital for further care. He was intubated and put on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (ECMO) which removes carbon dioxide from the bloodstream and pumps blood around the body.
In doing the function of the lungs and heart, it gives those vital organs a chance to recover. Doctors also diagnosed him with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, a disease that means their tissues and organs do not get enough oxygenated blood. This led to worries could develop and the medical experts opted for surgery.
On July 25 Mathias went through surgery to amputate his left leg above the knee and his right leg below the knee. On August 1, Surgery was performed to amputate both hands above the wrist.
Before he was an avid athlete, taking part in cross country, American football, normal football and basketball.
Mathias in healthier times (4)A fundraiser set up by family to help raise money to support Mathias with the medical costs reads: "Our son has always been a happy, tender, loving boy, who touches the heart of everyone around him. At school, he has always excelled, and his teachers always have nothing but praise for his work ethic and eagerness to learn and go above and beyond both inside and outside the classroom."
After 143 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, 13 days of ECMO and 23 Surgical Procedures, on Wednesday Mathias was transferred out of the specialist hospital and flew to Chicago for the rehabilitation phase of his recovery.
Dr. Katie Boyle, a paediatrician and co-leader of Mathias' medical team at Monroe Carell, said: "Most of [the cases] are in patients who have problems with their immune system or are on medications that cause immune system problems."
Talking about Mathias, she added, "Having the flu kind of set him up for potentially having a bacterial infection, but even then it's pretty rare to get something so severe. In his case, it's like he had an immune response to the bacteria that was overwhelming."