Matthew H.

Matthew was a 9-year-old boy that went into severe septic shock from a Strep A bacterial infection in November of 2018. (Sepsis and Group A Streptococcus) He had typical flu-like symptoms that changed very quickly. Not only did he have a bacterial infection in his blood, it settled in his bones and joints, resulting in septic arthritis in his hip.

After 10 days in the ICU, he was able to go home with a PICC line, a walker and close monitoring. Matthew remained some what healthy until February 2020 when he was, yet again, septic but this time was from pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) His mom had to fight the doctors in the ER to culture his blood, because his behavior was identical to how he acted in November 2018. After the doctor stated that they don’t see sepsis in children, mom was correct. He had a bacterial infection in his bloodstream from the pneumonia bacteria.

He was treated promptly with IV antibiotics and was able to go home the next day. After being septic for that second time, Matthew was referred to Infectious Disease and later found out he has a Complement 2 Deficiency and low IGG levels, which resulted in being much more susceptible to bacterial infections in his blood. His treatment plan has prevented further bacterial infections and is now a happy 16 (almost 17) year old high schooler who is passionate about spreading the word about signs and symptoms of sepsis.