INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A little boy was forced to have a quadruple amputation after a mystery illness attacked his body.
Jeremiah Thompson’s parents says they thought they were dreaming as they watched the bacteria take over his body. Days before he got sick in late September, he was at the park running and jumping. But what started as a fever escalated to a near death mystery illness.
Doctor’s say although this was a life altering decision for this child, the quadruple amputation saved his life.
“It was the fever of 104, that’s when I knew something was wrong,” mom Ashley Cox said.
From that point on, Ashley says everything happened so fast. She felt like she was in a movie. After getting to the hospital a mystery bacteria started to take over her son’s body.
“And my son’s covered now from head to toe in these purple like and it wasn’t little dots now it was big ole blotches that was just taking over. It was scary,” Ashley said.
“When he came in he was in septic shock. And septic shock really we talk about the golden hour. One hour from the time you get sick to get those antibiotics in so that you need fewer things down the road,” Dr. Alyson Baker said.
The pediatric ICU team at Riley Hospital for Children says killing the bacteria with antibiotics was their first priority.
They had to kill the bacteria before it killed Jeremiah. But because they gave Jeremiah antibiotics, that means they’ll never know what type of bacteria was in his body or what caused it. The mystery illness did have enough time to cut off his circulation. Amputation was the next and only option.
“That was necessary because you can’t continue to have portions of your body attached to you that are no longer alive. That’s just a huge risk for an infection,” Dr. Baker said.
“Letting the Lord in my life, in her life, and our kids life now it made us stronger to fight this battle it made us so much stronger and I’m thankful,” Jeremiah’s dad Nicholas Thompson said.
Mom and dad say they’ve surrendered to God’s will and trust brighter days ahead will outweigh this dark time.
“One day my son could be the top designer of prosthetic legs and arms because he went through this. He can do anything in his lifetime. This might stop him now, but I think the future can be bright for him,” Nicholas said.
Jeremiah is in rehab now. No word on will he’ll get to go home. His family says they are overwhelmed with the prayers and support. Their message to other parents, follow your instincts if you think something is wrong with your child.
If you want to help this family, visit their GoFundMe page.
