Condition forces dad to have nose removed leaving body so weak a sneeze is fatal

20 January 2024 , 08:00

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A brave dad is raising awareness after a rare condition that left him no choice but to get his nose removed, leaving his body so frail even a sneeze could be fatal.

31-year-old Brandon Boothby, from Florida, developed the rare condition suddenly, leaving his body vulnerable to otherwise 'harmless' pathogens and bacteria such as those found in sneezes. He ended up developing a fungal infection in his nose as a result, which began eating away at his flesh.

The infection was just weeks away from reaching his brain and eyes, leaving the firefighter no choice but to have his nose removed. It all started when Brandon developed flu-like symptoms that kept getting worse.

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He is an inspirational dad to Carter (Brandon Boothby / CATERS NEWS)

It reached a point where Brandon was so weak that he was fainting, ultimately landing in the emergency room where he learned about his rare condition, called severe aplastic anaemia. Brandon shared: "It's such a severe autoimmune disease that if someone sneezes around you, you could get a fatal infection."

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After learning about his rare condition, where his body stopped producing new blood cells, the race was on to find a lifesaving bone marrow transplant for him. Meanwhile, he needed daily blood transfusions just to stay at a "survivable level".

While Brandon managed to be matched with a donor, it wasn't the end of his ordeal. After the transplant, the usually healthy dad developed what's known as graft versus host syndrome. This meant the new, healthy blood cells were attacking his own body.

Brandon ended up with eczema-like symptoms and inflammation of his organ system as a result. He was even at risk of having part of his intestine removed ina colostomy due to the severe reaction.

Brandon took to social media to share his journey and raise awareness (Brandon Boothby / CATERS NEWS)

Brandon after his ordeal (Brandon Boothby / CATERS NEWS)

Luckily, because he was fit before, doctors decided to help him heal naturally, and it worked. Now, he's telling his story to spread the word about the condition a year and a half later.

He's learned to value every day after nearly dying. Brandon shared: "It's an autoimmune disease and leaves you incredibly vulnerable to otherwise harmless pathogens and bacteria - like dirt under your fingernails.

"When I developed a fungal infection in my nose, it began eating and killing tissue and going further and further back - if I hadn't had it completely removed, it would have reached my eyes within a few weeks and my brain with a month.

"Our bodies fight off so many bacteria and pathogens that we know nothing about, but when your neutrophil count is knocked down or non-existent, those things become lethal. The only way to stop the fungal infection I developed was to completely remove it.

"There is a high mortality rate in aplastic anaemia patients. I was very fortunate with my age and health status. If you're 35 or younger and in a healthy state, you're pushed to the top of the list. They want the most viable candidates so that the transplants are not wasted.

Brandon with baby Carter, after Brandon had recovered (Brandon Boothby / CATERS NEWS)

Brandon worked as a firefighter before he became unwell (Brandon Boothby / CATERS NEWS)

"It wasn't hard to breathe when my nose got infected, it was just the local pain and swelling that was alarming. When I documented what was happening to me, I had no idea I was going to lose a part of my face."

"So before the transplant, I was probably having two to three blood transfusions a day - it put me at a subprime level to keep me going. After the transplant, when I developed graft versus host syndrome, I was extremely malnourished.

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"I managed to heal on my own after medics put a central line in my chest to feed me liquid nutrients to take the strain of digesting food off of my lower intestines, which were inflamed. They told me it could take up to three years to heal completely, but it's been almost two now, and it's going extremely well. While I still need to go to for monthly checkups, I've returned to full-time duty as a firefighter.

"Now, I wake up with a whole different mindset. I give a lot more appreciation to God for just giving me another shot at life. I appreciate everything, even if it's just standing outside and enjoying the weather or being with my daughter.

"I watched life slipping away from me and it was it was enlightening to see everything I'd previously taken for granted. My goal now is to raise awareness because it's such a rare disease, but thanks to new research the mortality rate is going down."