Dylan Riley didn’t think twice about the small cut on his right knee from diving for a Frisbee on a sunny October afternoon.
The 31-year-old self-described klutz tripped while going to pick up the wayward Frisbee, leaving a small cut.
His mother, Trina White, an infectious diseases nurse, initially ruled out an infection. But two weeks later, he woke up with flu-like symptoms, which quickly turned into an inability to move his body.
He said, “All I could do was turn my head and yell for my roommates to help me and that’s when they called 911.”
Riley was rushed to Baptist Integris Hospital in Oklahoma City, where doctors diagnosed him with streptococcal toxic shock syndrome.
The same bacteria that causes strep throat had infiltrated Mr. Riley’s bloodstream, causing his immune system to go haywire and begin attacking healthy tissue.
Dr Bob Schoaps, medical director of specialist intensive care and acute mechanical circulatory support at the hospital, said: “He arrived at our hospital seriously ill, practically on the brink of death.”
If she had waited much longer in her apartment to feel better, her doctor said, Riley most likely would have died.
Dylan Riley’s seemingly harmless cut on his knee progressed into life-threatening toxic shock syndrome. He was unconscious for about five days until he woke up not knowing what had brought him there.
The doctor who treated Mr. Riley said the typical survival rate is about 10 percent or less.
His mother received the call that no mother wants to receive on November 10, 2023: her son was on the verge of death and was being rushed to the hospital.
white lady saying: ‘I got to the emergency room and they immediately took me back and said, “We don’t have time. Do you want to put him on life support or not?
“I remember being confused and saying, ‘I’m so sorry, but I think you have the wrong family.’ But then I turned the corner and saw my son lying there, not the son I knew, of course, and my heart sank. that moment.
Mr Riley was placed on the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, commonly abbreviated as ECMO, which maintains heart and lung function when a person is in critical condition. It is often considered the patient’s last hope.
When someone goes into toxic shock, the immune system attacks healthy organs and prevents blood and oxygen from flowing through the body.
Lack of blood means that limbs begin to die and rot, and organs begin to fail.
Mrs White said: ‘As a mother, it’s your worst nightmare. I told him, “Do what you have to do and save my son.”
While the machine kept his vital organs functioning, it did not allow oxygenated blood to circulate.
After a couple of days, his extremities up to the tips of his ears began to turn black, a sign that the skin tissue was dying.
Just before Christmas 2023, doctors had to amputate Mr Riley’s legs from the knee down. His limbs, including his hands as shown here, had begun to turn black due to the lack of oxygenated blood flowing to them while he was on life support.
Mr. Riley had prosthetic legs fitted on a Friday in May. The following Monday I was already dealing with curbs and steps. He has recently taken up some of his hobbies, such as league bowling.
Riley was unconscious for about five days in the hospital until doctors were able to get him off the ECMO machine.
When he woke up, with no memory of last week, his family prepared him for the possibility of him losing a limb or two.
His mother told him People who feared he had made the wrong decision by agreeing to put him on life support, knowing it could still result in the loss of a limb.
She said: ‘I was selfish. I loved my son. I didn’t care what it looked like. I didn’t care which parts we lost.
‘I was worried that he would blame me. I was worried that he would be angry because he is living a life so different from the one he knew.’
But his son assured him that ‘it doesn’t matter.’ The main thing is that I’m still here.”
Doctors tried to save as many limbs as possible.
Just before Christmas 2023, doctors amputated Mr. Riley’s legs from the knee down. A month later, most of both of his hands were removed.
He managed to preserve his right palm, while on his left hand, surgeons were able to save part of his thumb along with portions of his index and middle fingers.
Fortunately, some areas of his hand healed. He can still hold a pen and write, but he will never be able to use power tools like he did during his career in welding and construction.
He said: ‘Come to find out, I had been in contact with someone who had strep throat and strep bacteria had entered my wound and my bloodstream.
‘Throughout that week feeling like I had the flu, thinking I would just get over it, bacteria invaded my blood system and shut down my heart, lungs and kidneys, forcing me to be on life support for five days. ‘
He suffered numerous uncomfortable side effects, including the loss of his taste buds, making no food palatable, and peeling of his entire skin, similar to how a snake sheds its skin.
Proud of “always (trying to) see the positive in things,” Mr. Riley relied on his sense of humor to get him through the difficult test and help his friends and family get through it too.
He said: ‘Seeing them cry, I think, ‘Don’t do it, because you’re going to make me cry.’ And so my first instinct is always to make them laugh, so I was sitting there making jokes about amputations.’
Mr. Riley is pictured before his near-fatal injury last fall. Throughout the entire ordeal, friends and family said he never lost his sense of humor and is taking these major changes in his life in stride.
His positive attitude appears to have had an equally positive effect on his recovery.
On Friday, May 17, Mr. Riley was fitted with prosthetic legs. By Monday I was already tackling steps and curbs.
A year later, he has returned to some of his hobbies, such as league bowling and Frisbee golf.
Riley often visits other amputees in the hospital before their surgeries to offer them hope.
He said: “At least I can help them realize that this is not the end, it is just the beginning of their new story.”
‘You can go in one of two directions: you can move forward and excel, or you can sit there and linger and take steps back.