A man who developed a fatal blood infection was left in a coma and declared brain dead after trying to remove an ingrown hair from his leg.
Steven, whose last name and age have not been revealed, was diagnosed with life-threatening sepsis following the infection in late 2022, according to TikTok videos posted by his sister Michelle.
Sepsis is an extreme reaction of the immune system to an infection. Nicknamed the “silent killer,” it can quickly trigger a host of life-threatening complications, including organ failure and, if left untreated, death.
Steven developed this condition following an infection he contracted while attempting to remove ingrown hairs from his groin area.
Septic shock led to a series of alarming complications, including blood clots, pneumonia, organ failure and lung disease ARDS – acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Doctors later discovered that the septic bacterial infection had reached his heart and “destroyed” it, Michelle said, but he was unable to 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 a multitude of procedures and treatments, Steven emerged from his coma with no 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 following an infection he contracted while trying to remove an ingrown hair from his groin.
To help heal his lungs, Steven was strapped to a specialized hospital bed that spins — a rotating bed — and turned around “like roasting a pig over a fire,” Michelle posted.
Sepsis is extremely difficult to recognize and diagnose and affects approximately 1.7 million Americans each year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
This happens when the body’s immune system reacts to an infection or bacteria and goes into overdrive, triggering a series of reactions that can lead to organ failure.
It is unclear how long Steven waited for a diagnosis of sepsis and when it developed.
Sepsis is the third leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals and kills nearly 270,000 people a year, the CDC reports. This costs the health care system approximately $62 billion per year.
Although diagnosing this disease can be difficult, it is often treatable when caught early enough and the patient is given strong antibiotics.
For every hour a septic patient goes untreated, the risk of death increases by four to nine percent.
Bacterial infections are usually to blame, but viruses like Covid and flu – which don’t respond to antibiotics – can also lead to sepsis.
Sepsis is the third leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals and kills nearly 270,000 people a year, the CDC reports.
Steven almost completely recovered from his trip and returned home. Michelle has shown in several videos that he is able to walk and talk and is enjoying his favorite hobbies again.
Symptoms include extremely high or low body temperature, mental decline and confusion, severe pain and shortness of breath.
Throughout the month that 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 turned “like roasting a pig over a fire,” Michelle said.
He spent nearly 18 hours a day turning from his back to his chest, which improved the flow of oxygen to his lungs.
Steven underwent open heart surgery to repair damage to the organ caused by sepsis.
Doctors also inserted drains into his chest to remove excess fluid that was putting pressure on his heart and lungs, removing more than a gallon of fluid.
It was about a month and several surgeries later that Steven was able to breathe on his own and come out of his coma.
Showing no signs of brain damage, Steven almost completely recovered from his trip and returned home. Michelle has shown in several videos that he is able to walk and talk and is enjoying his favorite hobbies again.