A man who suffered a fatal blood infection fell into a coma and was declared brain dead after trying to remove an ingrown hair from his leg.
Steven, whose last name and age were not disclosed, was diagnosed with potentially fatal sepsis due to the infection in late 2022, according to TikTok videos posted by his sister Michelle.
Sepsis is an extreme response of the body’s immune system to an infection. Nicknamed the ‘silent killer’, it can quickly cause a host of life-threatening complications, including organ failure and, if left untreated, death.
Steven developed the condition as a result of an infection he contracted while trying to remove the ingrown hair from his groin area.
The septic shock led to a series of alarming complications, including blood clots, pneumonia, organ failure and the lung condition ARDS – acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Doctors then discovered that the septic bacterial infection had reached his heart and “destroyed it,” Michelle said, but he could not undergo surgery because his condition was too critical.
Due to all the complications, Steven, a husband and father, was intubated and placed in a medically induced coma to try to allow his body to heal.
Michelle said doctors declared him brain dead and gave him a four percent chance of survival.
But after a month and numerous procedures and treatments, Steven emerged from his coma without brain damage and has since made an almost full recovery.
Doctors discovered the septic bacterial infection had reached Steven’s heart and “destroyed it,” his sister Michelle said.
Steven developed sepsis due to an infection he contracted while trying to remove an ingrown hair from his groin area
To help his lungs heal, Steven was strapped to a specialized hospital bed that rotates – a rotobed – and flipped over “similar to roasting a pig over a fire,” Michelle posted.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, sepsis is extremely difficult to recognize and diagnose and affects approximately 1.7 million Americans annually.
It occurs when the body’s immune system responds to an infection or bacteria and goes into overdrive, triggering a series of reactions that can lead to organ failure.
It is not clear how long Steven waited to be diagnosed with sepsis, and at what point it developed.
Sepsis is the third most common cause of death in U.S. hospitals, killing nearly 270,000 people each year, the CDC reports. It costs the healthcare system an estimated $62 billion per year.
Although diagnosing the condition can be difficult, it is often treatable if caught early enough and the patient receives strong antibiotics.
For every hour a septic patient does not receive treatment, the risk of death increases by four to nine percent.
Bacterial infections are usually to blame, but viruses such as Covid and the flu – which do not respond to antibiotics – can also lead to sepsis.
Sepsis is the third most common cause of death in U.S. hospitals, killing nearly 270,000 people each year, the CDC reports
Steven has almost fully recovered from his trip and returned home. Michelle has shown in several videos that he can walk and talk and enjoy his favorite hobbies again
Symptoms include extremely high or low body temperature, mental decline and confusion, severe pain and shortness of breath.
During the month Steven was in a coma, he underwent numerous therapies to treat his illnesses.
To help with ARDS, he was strapped to a specialized hospital bed that rotates – a rotobed – and flipped over “similar to roasting a pig over a fire,” Michelle said.
He spent nearly 18 hours a day rotating his back to his chest, which improved oxygen flow to his lungs.
Steven underwent open heart surgery to repair the damage to the organ caused by the sepsis.
Doctors also placed drains in his chest to remove excess fluid that was putting pressure on his heart and lungs – removing more than a liter of fluid.
It took about a month and several surgeries later before Steven could breathe on his own and his coma could be reversed.
Showing no signs of brain damage, Steven has almost fully recovered from his trip and returned home. Michelle has shown in several videos that he can walk and talk and enjoy his favorite hobbies again.
