A British dad has revealed that he nearly died after mistaking a severe Strep A infection for a case of man flu.
As reported by the Daily Echo, back in November 2013, Alex Lewis, now 42, thought he just had man flu and constantly complained for ten days until his health suddenly started to decline.
A few days later, Lewis said that woke up in tremendous discomfort and that his skin had begun turning purple. He had to be rushed to the hospital and within hours his organs were being kept working by special machines.
Lewis - who is a patron of the Lee Spark NF Foundation - ended up losing all of his limbs and part of his face to the illness and is now urging parents to be attentive to the symptoms.
According to medical experts, Strep A refers to bacteria that can inhabit the throat, skin, and anogenital tract. It causes a diverse range of skin, soft tissue, and respiratory tract infections.
For some people like Lewis, his infection was more than a sore throat and led him to experience toxic shock syndrome and septicemia - which is the clinical name for blood poisoning by bacteria, per Hopkins Medicine.
After Lewis contracted the infection, he had to go through months of surgeries that left him with no options but to amputate his arms and legs. He also underwent facial reconstruction as the severe illness destroyed his face and mouth as well.
Despite all that, the father managed to fight through the treatment and managed to prevail despite having been given such a harsh prognosis by doctors.
Lewis - who lives in Stockbridge with his wife Lucy Townsend and nearly 12-year-old son Sam - is now sharing his story after seeing so many children die of the same infection.
Speaking to the Daily Echo, the father reflected on the tragic story of a five-year-old girl who became severely ill last week and was treated at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. According to BBC News, she had been moved to intensive care before she sadly passed away.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that five children under the age of five have died in England after contracting the infection, per Gov.UK.
