Victoria Pasten-Morales, Phoenix, Arizona 7 year old girl has several amputations after mystery deadly bacterial infection.
A 7 year old Arizona girl has had several limbs amputated over the last two weeks after she mysteriously contracted a deadly bacterial infection, family members said.
Victoria Pasten-Morales has undergone eight surgeries since she was diagnosed with Group A Streptococcus, a bacteria that can lead to deadly diseases.
The second grader started her illness with a fever and vomiting on February 29 before her lips and hands became blue, her mom told Fox 10 in Phoenix.
‘Everything happened very fast. It occurred very fast. We don’t know where it came from, but it all happened in less than 12 hours,’ mother Obdulia Morales told Fox 10.
‘Diseases come unexpectedly,’ the child’s father, Victor Pasten said in Spanish. ‘From morning to night, everything can change in just one second.’
The 7 year old was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital where she received the grim diagnosis and underwent numerous procedures.
‘Unfortunately, they had to amputate both feet and her right hand. Her left hand is still recovering,’ Pasten told the station on Sunday.
Victoria’s kidneys have also been affected and while she is awake, she needs a ventilator, according to Fox 10.
Sepsis is a medical emergency health experts call a ‘silent killer.’ It’s caused by the body’s extreme reaction to an infection.
Sepsis occurs when chemicals released in the bloodstream cause the immune system to go haywire.
The danger of ignoring symptoms
Instead of sending infection-fighting white blood cells to attack a foreign invader, it targets healthy tissues and organs.
Infections that lead to sepsis most commonly start in the lungs, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract, but almost any infection can lead to sepsis – even things as innocuous as paper cuts.
Also known as flesh-eating disease, necrotizing fasciitis is a severe, rapidly spreading infection that kills one in five sufferers, according to the CDC. It’s most commonly caused by group A strep.
Symptoms include a red or warm area of the skin that spreads quickly, severe pain, and fever. As necrotizing fasciitis spreads, it can cause ulcers or blisters on the skin, skin color changes, pus or oozing, dizziness, fatigue, diarrhea, and nausea.
The CDC estimates 700 to 1,150 cases occur in the US every year.
Sepsis can closely resemble the flu, which makes it extremely difficult to spot early.
There is no single test for sepsis, but doctors look for signs of infections with measures such as blood tests.
Sepsis can progress to septic shock, which is characterized by a severe drop in blood pressure.
Signs of septic shock, according to the Mayo Clinic, include not being able to stand up, extreme fatigue or not being able to stay awake, and a major change in mental status.
The CDC recommends seeking help immediately if you have signs of sepsis. If left untreated, sepsis and septic shock are fatal.
Different levels of infections with severe consequences
While she can’t talk, Victoria was blowing kisses and nodding her head when staff from the school she attends visited Victoria to wish her well, her teacher said in a GoFundMe post reported on by Fox 10.
More than $25,320 has been raised for the family so far as they face a financial burden from the shocking medical emergency.
Bacteria called Group A Streptococcus can lead to different infections, including mild illnesses to more severe diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Morales said her daughter has been a ‘warrior’ through the ordeal.
‘It’s not going to be easy for her,’ she told Fox 10. ‘It’s going to be hard but, she’s strong.’
Her parents, who have three other children, can’t explain how she caught the debilitating infection.
‘Not even the doctors can tell us how she got this bacteria,’ Morales said.
