KNEWZ
A single flea bite has cost a Texas man both of his arms and part of his feet.
According to a GoFundMe set up for Michael Kohlhof, 35, he was rushed to a San Antonio emergency room after losing feeling in his toes and suffering from what his family initially believed to be severe flu symptoms.
Soon after, he went into septic shock and was rushed into the ICU.
Within 24 hours, Kohlhof was put on a ventilator, dialysis, antibiotics, vasopressors, and numerous IV medications to keep him alive as his organs began rapidly failing.
“By the end of June 20, I was told to call immediate family to come from all parts of the country to say their goodbyes,” his mother, J’Leene Hardaway, wrote.
Kohlhof’s brother, Greg, stated that his sibling “almost died once or twice,” per NYP.
It took 11 days of intense medical assistance and Kohlhof pulled through. He was taken off the ventilator and sedation on July 1 but suffered permanent physical damage.
According to Hardaway, Kohlhof’s hands and feet developed dry gangrene as a result of the vasopressor treatment – a medical action that increases blood pressure by constricting blood vessels – which was one of the many medications that saved his life.
The cause of Kohlhof’s sepsis and rapid decline was pinpointed to typhus, which stemmed from a single bite of a flea.
“He was the victim of a severe and traumatic bite from one single flea,” Hardaway said.
Doctors informed the family that the type of typhus Kohlhof suffered is extremely rare in the US.
Typically, people bitten by infected fleas seek medical help after finding swelling or a rash around the bite mark.
However, Greg said his brother didn’t experience any symptoms until it was too late…
