A man in Colorado had both hands and feet amputated after the flu caused near-fatal sepsis.
Josh Meyer was alone with his two young children in February when he came down with the flu. Without thinking, he resisted while his wife, Courtney, was on a business trip.
However, when his wife came home that Friday, “it was really bad,” Mr. Meyer said. CBSColorado.
‘I was blue. She was talking incoherently and then I looked at her and said, “I think I’m dying.”
Meyer, a veteran who loved spending time outdoors skiing, hiking and fly fishing, had suffered from sepsis, an extreme immune reaction that kills one American every 90 seconds.
Josh Meyer was alone with his two young children in February when he came down with the flu. Weeks later, his nose was mummified and his feet were amputated.
Tissues from Mr. Meyer’s hands, feet and the tip of his nose were mummified, leading to both hands and feet having to be amputated.
Josh Meyer was home alone with his two young children when he came down with the flu. Within days, the illness led to sepsis.
When he was rushed to the hospital, doctors discovered that within days, Mr. Meyer’s flu had turned into a bacterial infection, strep pneumonia.
This occurs when the immune system is weak and normally harmless strep bacteria invade the lungs.
This causes the body to go crazy and target healthy tissues and organs such as the limbs, lungs and kidneys, known as sepsis.
In Mr. Meyer’s case, the condition caused his heart, lungs, liver and kidneys to shut down because sepsis prevents blood from flowing to them.
Patients are often given medications called vasopressors to push blood back to vital organs. However, doing so cuts off circulation to the extremities.
The tissues on Meyer’s hands, feet, and the tip of his nose began to mummify and turn black.
Doctors had to amputate both of his legs and plan to remove both of his hands as well.
Meyer, the father of a young son and daughter, has credited his medical team with saving his life as he adjusts to life without his limbs.
Before his illness, the veteran spent his time hiking, skiing and fly fishing.
The Meyer family is raising money for medical expenses on their GoFundMe page
Sepsis affects 1.7 million Americans each year, according to the CDC.
Every year, 350,000 Americans die from it, or one every 90 seconds.
It is the leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals, according to the nonprofit Sepsis Alliance, causing 35 percent of hospital deaths.
Yet 34 percent of Americans have never heard of it, the Sepsis Alliance says.
Sepsis Alliance has also found that cases are increasing, which could be due in part to a lack of consistent care.
The United States does not have a national sepsis protocol and 2023 CDC data found that more than 1,400 hospitals (about a quarter) in the U.S. do not have a sepsis program.
Sepsis can be a lot like the flu, making it extremely difficult to detect early.
There is no single test, but doctors look for signs of infection with measures such as blood tests.
For every hour treatment is delayed, the chance of death increases by four to nine percent.
Dr Steven Simpson, professor of medicine at the University of Kansas and president of the Sepsis Alliance, previously told DailyMail.com that urgent national action is needed to prevent millions of unnecessary deaths and life-destroying injuries.
“Doctors do not receive enough information to help them diagnose sepsis,” he said.
“There is no catchy phrase to help doctors and hospitals stay vigilant, as they have in other countries.”
“Every hospital in the country should have a sepsis committee, a sepsis quality improvement program, and organize their facilities so that they are prepared to detect and treat sepsis.”
“Nowadays this is not the case at all.”
Meyer credits his medical team at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora for saving his life.
“Without all the help from a cardiothoracic surgeon, the intensive care units, all the nurses, the doctors, everyone, you know, I wouldn’t be here today,” he said.
In addition to having his hands amputated, Meyer will have to stay in a long-term care facility to learn to adjust to his lost limbs.
The Meyer family is raising money for their family’s medical expenses. GoFundMe page.
‘Josh is a warrior of a man. He continues to defy the odds. “His courage, determination and strength are unmatched,” Ms. Meyer wrote on the page.
“He is with us and continues to fight.”