16-Year-Old Becomes Fourth Known Person to Survive Brain Amoeba in 50 Years | ABC News

What doctors call a medical miracle is a story both terrifying and moving involving a 16-

year

-old boy infected with a rare parasite-feeding

brain

parasite. His doctor told the boy's parents to say goodbye for good, but then a frantic phone call and a frantic 30-minute drive in pajamas may have saved the day. It's classic summer kids cooling off in water parks, lakes and dreams, but beneath the surface of these idyllic scenes there may be something truly terrifying: a common parasite that's been dubbed a

brain

. Eating an

amoeba

infection is rare, but 97% of people who get it die. He is currently walking talking. um, you know, it's a miracle.

It is a miracle. Sebastian Deon, 16, overcame incredibly bad odds and

survive

d. We are very grateful that God has given us. The miracle through this medical team and this hospital for recovering our son a few days after swimming in a body of water on private property in South Florida. Sebastian was rushed to the hospital on August 7 with an unbearable headache, nausea and sensitivity to light. at Florida Hospital for Children I initially thought his symptoms looked like menitis, but later tests revealed something much worse: the Nea fower parasite. The family came to see me immediately within 4 hours. They came.

I had to tell them to say goodbye. I had to tell them, tell them everything you want to tell your son because I don't know when I'm going to put him to sleep until the time I take his TU B, is he going to wake up in a desperate attempt to save Sebastian? The doctors made a crucial decision. phone call to the parent team, Todd and Michael mlin, who distribute a life-saving drug called Undaunted Mike. I said we have a case of Amia and you should get in the car and go to the office to get the medicine and take it to the hospital. away, fortunately, Michael was less than 30 minutes from the hospital.

My mind went into fear because I know how deadly the

amoeba

is. Then, excitement. I think my adrenaline started pumping from there and I already picked up the keys and was in my car, he jumped into his car in his pajamas, there was no time to waste because the parasite devours the brain very quickly when I left him it was just a relief because I knew that this would definitely be one of the quickest moments they would receive. The doctors administered the medication and then watched and waited as Sebastian remained in a medically induced coma for 3 days.

We woke him up and decided to remove the breathing tube and within hours he spoke to the vast majority of people who become infected with this. Amoebas are not so lucky. The ponds are home to a deadly amoeba that claimed the life of a local teenager last

year

whose daughter died the moment she jumped into the water. I just didn't know it. They are investigating a deadly amoeba infection. the 138

known

cases in the US in the last 50

years

or so Sebastian is only the

fourth

survivor and has been waiting to see you, the third Kaylee Hardig as Sebastian Kayle's problems began with a seemingly low-risk summer excursion to a water park where they had swings in the water that you can swing on they had like a jungle gym, these little square blocks that she can jump on them a few days later, Kaylee had headaches, vomiting and fever, suddenly the pain of Head started to get worse as he rolled his eyes.

Kaye was rushed to Arkansas Children's Hospital. Doctors warned Kayle's parents that she might only have a few days left without proven treatment. They tried something new. She was put into an induced coma. They lowered her body temperature in hopes of curbing the parasite that thrives in high temperatures. temperatures and they gave him a cocktail of drugs including undaunted a combination similar to the one that ended up saving Sebastian approximately a month later he came out of the coma with a long road ahead with therapy he was able to relearn basic skills he began to walk and spoke greeting his mother again when I could say the first word.

He was very excited and just happy. Dennis Kyle is a parasite researcher who has been studying this insect since the early 80s. He says the parasite enters through the nose. crosses the nasal lining into the paranasal sinuses and finally invades the front of the brain, where it begins to devour the tissue, it could be caused by swimming with the head wet or swallowing water in the nose; However, there are many things that scientists don't know, for example, why some people get sick and others don't is whether it's the number of amoebas, it's the

person

's immune system, there's nothing that really links the link between getting infected and not getting infected, one of the reasons so many people don't

survive

this infection is because they are misdiagnosed and simply run out of time, which is what happened to 11-year-old Jordan Smelski.

He would love to make you laugh and smile and he had the most amazing smile. His parents, Steve and Shelly, say his son contracted this deadly disease. parasite during our stay at a five star resort in Costa Rica we went horseback riding on a zipline and on the second to last day we swam in one of the resort pools and the pool had a water slide and it was warm water, it was a hot spring. water the next day Jordan had a headache, then his fever went up and he started vomiting he was diagnosed with menitis and they gave him antibiotics he started having hallucinations he didn't know who he was he didn't know who we were and he didn't know where he was and then he had a seizure and They brought the ICU team in.

They moved him downstairs and he never regained consciousness. They did surgery and that's when they detected the amoeba in a sample. They finally gave the correct diagnosis but it came too late. He died on Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m. m., 7 days and 12 hours after swimming today, the stinkers are turning their own pain into awareness for other families. They have started a foundation in their son's honor in hopes of educating other parents and doctors about the disease our The fear is that there may be more cases that are misdiagnosed or diagnosed as something else. The signs of this infection are the same as menitis, so headache maybe confusion, stiff neck.

Medical experts agree that parents should take children to the doctor if they see these strange symptoms. but they emphasize that this deadly infection is extremely rare. If we thought about prevention. I used to say it's like being struck by lightning, but being struck by lightning is 10 times more common than getting this infection, so I shouldn't worry. about letting my children swim in these bodies of water or swim in one I should worry you should worry if they know how to swim if they are safe in that water you should worry about eoli which is very common in some of these like for Sebastian he is 16

years

old and lives in Florida.

He is still in the hospital, but doctors say he is improving and his family hopes for a full recovery. They are a wonderful, adventurous, very energetic team and we are very grateful for the gift of life.