Gerrard Kaonga
A teenager was on the verge of death mere hours after being diagnosed with strep throat.
Mason Jones was a normal 15 year-old kid living in West Virginia, spending time with friends, riding his bike and playing video games.
But after starting to feel unwell, he and his mother, Charde McMillan went to the doctors to find out why he had a sore throat and was fatigued.
Mason was put on antibiotics but within 24 hours his health deteriorated rapidly, with his lips turning purple and purple blotches appearing all over his skin.
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He was taken to the hospital as he had gone into organ failure and sepsis.
Essentially, sepsis is when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs.
Mason had to be airlifted to University of Virginia Hospital in Charlotteville and spent three months on life support. Doctors gave him only a one percent chance of survival.
“There were no other symptoms at first other than the strep throat symptoms: sore throat, fever, tiredness,” Charde told the Daily Mail.
“That's all it was. It was like living in a nightmare.”
Mason was diagnosed as having streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) with necrotizing fasciitis and quickly went into sepsis.
Necrotizing fasciitis is a rapidly spreading infection known as 'flesh-eating' and kills one in five sufferers. Due to this, Mason also required multiple skin grafts and care from specialized units at the hospital.
"There was no blood supply going to his hands and his feet," Charde added.
"They essentially just died and were mummified. It was horrible.
"I've never experienced that type of like physical and emotional pain, watching my son suffer and being so helpless."
As a result, on June 6, 2023, doctors had to amputate both of Mason’s hands and about four inches of each arm.
Less than two weeks later, just before his 16th birthday, Mason had to have both legs removed just below the knee.
As Mason attempts to readjust to his new life and still seeks further care, his family has set up a GoFundMe page to ask for any help on his journey to recovery.
The page gives a breakdown of how the incident unfolded and, so far, has raised just over $40,000 out of its $50,000 goal.