Despite life-threatening outcomes of Strep A being rare, Jake Bond, 6, was left fighting for his life in hospital after catching the infection last December. The brave schoolboy has been hailed as a “true hero” by his mum after having his leg amputated due to the horrific battle with the bacteria.
Strep A describes common bacteria that target the throat and nose.
While lots of people can have it unknowingly, the pesky culprits can sometimes trigger an infection characterised by symptoms like sore throat and swollen glands.
Jake was sent home from school on December 1 after he started vomiting and had a high temperature.
Symptoms like the schoolboy experienced detail some of the tell-tale signs of the infection, according to the NHS.
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The health service explains that common symptoms can include:
- Flu-like symptoms (a high temperature, swollen glands or an aching body)
- Sore throat (strep throat or tonsillitis)
- A rash that feels rough, like sandpaper (scarlet fever)
- Scabs and sores (impetigo)
- Pain and swelling (cellulitis)
- Severe muscle aches
- Nausea and vomiting.
Two days later, Jake was rushed to Royal Blackburn Hospital, where he would spend the next four weeks fighting for his life.
His mum, Victoria, said he deteriorated quickly and was put on a ventilator after suffering a respiratory arrest.
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Jake was later transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where doctors told Victoria he only had a five-percent chance of survival.
Unfortunately, Jake’s condition grew even worse and he developed sepsis.
Sepsis is a life-threatening emergency that occurs as an extreme response to an infection.
Despite having two operations to save his leg, Jake had to have a through-knee amputation.
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But Victoria said her brave boy is coping with the amputation well and has even nicknamed his stump “Peanut”.
She said: “Jake told the surgeons on the day to send his leg up to the rainbow as he wanted it to run free, he also wanted to be free from it and free from pain.
“He is a true hero, he has his good days and bad but his strong, independent self and silly sense of humour has got him through this.”
The mum explained she feels “lucky” that her boy is still alive, despite the fact that he lost his leg.
She added: “He was not meant to survive and was one of the sickest boys in the hospital.
“We are so lucky that Jake is still with us and that he survived Strep A, but at the same time he lost his leg.
“His toes had died back in December when all of this began so we knew some amputation was going to happen, we just didn’t know how much of the leg they were going to save.
“At that time all that mattered was Jake’s life.”
The schoolboy is currently waiting to get a bionic leg and he cannot wait “to be a six-year-old again”.
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