As we all know by now, bug bites and stings are, for the most part, no more unpleasant than a homework assignment — kind of annoying but basically harmless. Occasionally, though, an insect bite or sting can cause serious problems. So you should know when a simple ice pack can bring some relief and when a visit to the local hospital is in order. Unfortunately, this 35-year-old man was forced to undergo a double amputation, having both his arms and parts of his feet severed after contracting a serious disease following a simple bite.
The man, Michael, was helping his mother recuperate from a surgery when he woke up with numbness in his feet. ‘We thought it was the flu,’ his mother, Jeene, explains in a GoFundMe set up to help pay for her son’s expenses. Except her son’s condition continued to deteriorate, with the son getting sicker and sicker, before having to be rushed to hospital. Seek immediate help if one notices swelling around a bite mark
The 35-year-old man went into septic shock, and by the next day, was on a ventilator, dialysis, antibiotics, beta-blockers, and more medications as the mans organs began failing. ‘He almost died once or twice,’ his brother Greg told KEN5 news. ‘They were worried about him being brain dead.’ Medics believe his capitulation was brought about as a result of typhus, a disease caused by a bacteria carried by infected fleas. Symptoms include fever and chills, body aches and muscle pain, loss of appetite, and vomiting, according to the CDC.
Jeene also said that her son was ‘the victim of a severe and traumatic bite from one single flea — with unimaginable consequences. Doctors amputated both of his hands ‘up to his forearms,’ his mother writes. He’s already lost his toes and parts of his feet. ‘As of now, we do not know how much of his feet are salvageable,’ she said about her son, whom she says was also an avid volunteer at community gardens and festivals. His brother also said that the family wants people to be aware of what he’s going through so they can protect themselves.
