A MAN has been declared brain dead and given a four per cent chance of survival after contracting blood poisoning from an ingrown hair.
Steven Spinale was diagnosed with sepsis after contracting an infection when he tried to remove an ingrown hair from his groin area.
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Steven Spinale, 36, was given a four percent chance of survival after battling sepsis caused by an infected ingrown hairCredit: gofundme
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He was intubated and placed in a medically induced coma, and his family was told he might be deadCredit: gofundme
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Steven managed to come out of the coma and is on the road to recovery Credits: gofundme
GoFundMe and TikTok videos shared by his sister Michelle show dad fighting for his life in late 2022 as he was placed in a medically induced coma and underwent open-heart surgery.
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that occurs when the immune system overreacts, starting to damage the body’s tissues and organs.
Steven became ill after trying to remove an ingrown hair on his leg that became infected.
Steven, 36 at the time, had been quite ill for a month before he was admitted to the hospital, according to Michelle.
“He was rejected in many hospitals [who thought] he was making it up,” she shared in a TikTok video.
“He started vomiting blood and they still sent him home.
“The next day my sister had to call 911 because he couldn’t breathe.”
After Steven was admitted, doctors were confused by his symptoms and could not figure out what was causing them.
“All they could figure out was that he was bleeding internally,” his sister wrote on GoFundMe.
“We didn’t know that would be the least of our worries.”
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Doctors discovered he had a rare bacteria in his bloodstream that “shut down all his organs,” says Michelle.
“He was declining rapidly until he was met and put on life support.
“He caught a rare bacterium that was ravaging his body and shutting down all his organs.”
He started vomiting blood and was sent home anyway
MichelleSister
The bacteria sent Steven’s body into septic shock – when blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level after an infection, according to NHS Inform.
Steven’s body succumbed to a series of problems as time went on, he caught influenza A, contracted pneumonia in both lungs and developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which left his lungs unable to work.
Doctors then discovered that a septic bacterial infection had reached his heart and “destroyed it,” Michelle said.
Dad had a “small stroke” too.
But he could not undergo surgery because his condition was too critical, his sister added.
Steven was intubated – when a tube is inserted through the nose or mouth into the windpipe to help a patient breathe – and placed in a medically induced coma.
The heartbroken family were told Steven was unlikely to make it out of his ordeal alive – with doctors giving him just a four per cent chance of survival.
The family gathered around dad, and his sister and wife are always by his side.
To help with ARDS, he was strapped to a rotobed — a specialized revolving hospital bed — for two weeks, which turned him “like a rotisserie chicken,” Michelle said.
Open heart surgery
He spent 18 hours every day turned from his back to his chest to relieve pressure from his fluid-filled lungs and improve oxygen flow.
Stephen also underwent open-heart surgery to repair the damage caused by the sepsis and had chest drains inserted to remove excess fluid.
After being in a coma for a month and undergoing multiple treatments, Steven emerged with no brain damage and is on the road to recovery.
According to Michelle, the family watched him regain his luster after having “dead sunken eyes”.
“Steven has a long way to go, but he’s persevering on his path,” she wrote on November 29, 2022.
“He’s learning how to sit up on his own, which is amazing.”
Although he was released from the hospital in a wheelchair, Steven was able to walk again by the end of 2023.
“I still go back to when they told us Steven was brain dead and we needed to take him off life support,” Michelle wrote in the video.
– What a trip.
What are the symptoms of sepsis?
SEPSA is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that occurs when your immune system overreacts and starts damaging your body’s own tissues and organs.
Symptoms of sepsis in adults include:
- Acts confused, slurs or makes no sense
- Blue, gray, pale or mottled skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin this can be more easily seen on the palms or soles of the feet
- A rash that doesn’t go away when you run a glass over it, same as meningitis
- Shortness of breath, shortness of breath or very fast breathing
Symptoms in children include:
- Blue, gray, pale or mottled skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin this can be more easily seen on the palms or soles of the feet
- A rash that doesn’t go away when you run a glass over it, same as meningitis
- Difficulty breathing (you may notice gurgling sounds or suctioning of the abdomen under the chest), shortness of breath or very fast breathing
- A weak, high-pitched cry that is not like their normal cry
- They are unresponsive or not interested in feeding or normal activities
- Being more sleepy than normal or having trouble waking up
They may not have all of these symptoms.
If you think you or someone else has symptoms of sepsis, call 999 or go to A&E.
Source: NHS
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Steven had been unwell for about a month before being rushed to hospital after vomiting bloodCredit: gofundme
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‘Steven has a long way to go, but he’s on his way,’ said sister MichelleZasluge: gofundme
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