PIctures of items
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Monday, December 7, 2009
Lots more cases
We sent out our first batch of letters to health care places starting with Urgent Cares in Sept. One of the ladies that emailed me had taken her loved one there and they passed away shortly after. It's really sad. The public is listening to us but the Health care people are not just there yet. But we won't give up! I plan on working on the next mailing to send out after the holidays.
To everyone that has contacted me Thank You again!!!
I may not be able to get back to everyone right away but we do appreciate your thoughts, prayers and sharing your stories with us!
Love,
Tammy
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pictures of our walk
sunflwz2@yahoo.com
I was unable to take any pictures and would love to post some on our sites!
Thank you!!!
Tammy
Our Walk and other information
He fell 2 months ago and hit his head. He was with us for 2 months after the fall but could no longer hold on. My grandpa is one of the strongest and most amazing men I know. I feel truly blessed to have had him in my life for 30 years. Now he can be with his 3 grandchildren including Justin! I know they welcomed him with open arms in Heaven!
Contributions to J.E.R. Foundation for Lemierre's Awareness Inc. www.lemierresyndrome.com appreciated.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The walk is coming up very soon!!
Thank you to everyone who has supported us!
Love,
Tammy
Monday, September 28, 2009
Happy 19th Birthday Justin
The Golf Tournament we had on Sat was a lot of fun! I hope all the golfers enjoyed themselves even though they did get a little wet! Jamie and Joey were soaked! ;0) I guess that means he was out side the cart a lot longer and sticks at golf! I can not wait to have the Walk here in 3 weeks! It's amazing all the love and support we have been receiving over the last year and half. I hope it continues in our fight! I have received many emails from people letting me know that they believe you and the other ones that have lost their life to this disease have been their child's guardian angle through their battle! We love you and miss you every day!
Love your biggest sister,
Tammy
Friday, September 25, 2009
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU!!!!
Hustler Conveyor Company for sponsoring a Team for our Tournament!!
http://www.hustler-conveyor.com/
Pasta House for donating 150 $5 off coupons!!!!
http://www.pastahouse.com/
Balloons Over the Rainbow for sponsoring a hole at the tournament!!
http://www.balloonsovertherainbow.com/
Pets & Company for donating a 3 day stay for a pet as a prize at the tournament and sponsoring a hole!!!
http://petsandcompany.net/
Cunnetto House of Pasta for donating 2 dinners for prizes at our tournament!!
http://www.cunetto.com/
U Gas for donating a Gas card for a prize in our tournament!!!
http://www.u-gas.com/
Pegg's Pizza for donating a free pizza as a prize for the tournament!!
http://peggsotb.com/
Golf Discount Superstore, South County for donating a Golf Umbrella as a prize for our tournament!!
http://www.golfdiscountsuperstore.com/golf/
Hager Company for making a donation to us to purchase items for the tournament!!!
http://www.hagerhinge.com/
And of Course Elaine Rosi for letting us be apart of this event!! Thank you Very much!!
http://www.rosiacademy.com/
And Sugar Creek Golf Course for letting us hold our event there and all you have done!
We couldn't have pulled it off with our all of you! I will have a longer lsit to post tomorrow. Thank you again!
Love Tammy
Another article!!
Lemierre Syndrome,
The Forgotten Disease,
Making a Comeback threatening our children’s lives
By Debby Kwiecien
Feature Writer
“When tragedy strikes you change,” said Tammy Valencia. “You look at things
differently.” Tammy’s talking about her 17-year-old brother, Justin Rodgers that passed away
May 12, 2008, the day after Mother’s Day. Justin was a junior at Eureka High School that year and he was getting ready to go to the prom when he began feeling ill. His mom took him to the doctor who checked for strep-throat and gave him a z-pac and told him to go home and
rest; he’d be fine. A few days later Justin was still sick; he had flu-like symptoms
and a bad case of sore throat. This time Mom took him to St. Anthony Hospital’s emergency room and they promptly transferred him to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. By the time
Justin was diagnosed a week later with lemierre syndrome he was on a respirator and in a drug induced coma, running a fever of 107. He began bleeding internally and was placed on an ECMO machine that filters and cleans the blood. Amonth after being hospitalized Justin passed away.
“The doctors think it may have been caused by either a fight that broke his nose or some dental work he’d recently had done,” said Tammy. “But they’re not really sure.” Lemierre Syndrome, the Forgotten Disease, is a fast acting illness with flu-like symptoms, a severe sore throat and high fever [106 or more]. The fusobacteria embeds itself into the jugular vein and when it begins breaking down it spreads into the rest of the body, through the bloodstream, wreaking irreversible havoc, especially on the lungs or kidneys. Prior to 1936 the mortality rate for lemierre syndrome was 96%; after the widespread use of penicillin the disease was virtually wiped out. According to Tammy there have been only 120 cases in the last 100 years; however, in the last 5 to 6 years it is estimated that there will be 1000 cases every 10 to 15 years and today the cases of lemierre’s syndrome have risen to 100 deaths out of 1000 documented cases.
What’s truly sad is that the disease is curable, if diagnosed quickly with a simple throat swab in the doctor’s office and treated accurately with a simple dose of penicillin. Before Justin passed away Tammy began asking questions. She started with her own children’s pediatrician. “He pulled out this huge medical book,” she said. “And, looked it up. There was only one short paragraph about it without much information.”
That spurred Tammy on to find out more and to start blogging [an online journal]
at www.lemierresyndromjrodgers.blogspot.com about what happened to
Justin. She strongly believes that because physicians have been cutting back on the
use of penicillin to treat their patients it is causing this disease to resurface. She and
her family also decided to start the Justin E. Rodgers Foundation for Lemierres
Awareness, Inc., [JRFLA] in order to get the word out to other families about this
life threatening disease that is totally curable. Visit www.lemierresyndrom.com for
more information about the disease.
Tammy has also made it her mission to contact every doctor, every hospital, and
every healthcare facility in the US with information about lemierre syndrome. She
has already mailed out 750 letters to emergent care facilities across the US. She is
on a mission to save lives and does not plan to stop until she has made as many
healthcare professionals aware of this as possible.
The JRFLA has teamed up with Elaine Rosi Academy for Children’s fifth annual
golf tournament to be held Sept. 26, 2009 at the Sugar Creek Golf Course. There
is a 7 a.m. shotgun start, 4-person scramble [$99.95 per golfer] with golf pro shop
awards, cash awarded for first place in multiple flights, prizes for longest drive and
closest to pin, $25,000 hole in one prize, unlimited beer, soda and water, complimentary
grilled lunch buffet, optional skins games for $5 per golfer, raffles and
50/50s. For more information or to sign up call Tammy at 314-566-4970.
JRFLA is also holding a walkathon at Lions Park in Eureka October 17 at 10
a.m. There will be hotdogs and hamburgers available for purchase, anyone is invited
to come and walk and there will be silicone bracelets for sale. Watch the
Current’s Community Calendar for more information. Or visit www.lemierresyndromjrodgers.
blogspot.com for updates.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
1st Lemierre's Walk!!!!
More details in the near future!
If you have an idea for something pertaining to our walk please email me @
Sunflwz2@yahoo.com
We will defiantly need Volunteers for this one! Thank you to everyone that has helped us!!
The first set of letters are going into the mail tomorrow to ALL of the Urgent Care Centers across the United States!
Next we will work on Physician's and Hospitals!
Thank you to everyone for their love and support!
We couldn't do this with out all of you!
Love,
Tammy
Saturday, August 15, 2009
NEW Decals are in
"My son's Dr. had never
heard of Lemierre's. Has yours?
www.lemierresyndrome.com"
OR
"My daughter's Dr. had never heard
of Lemierre's. Has your?
www.lemierresyndrome.com"
If you would be interested in one of these decals for you car window or anywhere else please email me your name address and which one you would like and I will pop it in the mail to you.
sunflwz2@yahoo.com
THANK YOU!
Tammy Valencia
Monday, August 10, 2009
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS!
I receive at least 5 to 6 emails a WEEK from mom's, dad's, aunt's, uncle's, brother's and sometimes the young people them self that have dealt with this disease! For those Dr.s who say this disease is still rare and only a one in a million change of getting I would like them to contact me. There is no way that is true with all of the emails and stories I receive.
We have received many donations from people all around the world and the people purchasing the ribbons, wrist bands and T shirts are a huge help to!!
We are just at the very beginning of our fight but it is a MUCH needed fight! I can't help but think that there are many more families that have lost their loved ones to this disease and do not even know it! It hides behind so many illnesses and takes so much to diagnose it is insane. You think it's 2009 they know about everything but they don't!
I want to Thank You to these companies that have either donated to us or helped us in any other way! FIRST ONE IS HIDDEN VALLEY in Eureka MO.
When Amity approached us to have the "J-Rod Jam" we were in shock! It turned out to be the best fundraiser I have ever been to! Everyone there especially Amity were amazing!
and at the J-Rod Jam helping us were the following companies:
Monster http://www.monsterenergy.com/
SOKA http://www.sokaskate.com/
Fox Creek Outfitters http://www.foxcreekstl.com/
US Cellular http://www.uscellular.com/
105.7 the point http://www.1057pointthepoint.com/
Z107.7 http://www.z1077.com/
And Kelly Corday with the amazing phone interview on the radio! http://www.y98.com/
Automotive Leasing Corporation also known as Ackerman Auto Plaza http://www.ackermanauto.com/
ALSO a BIG Thank you to Carousel Chocolates www.carousel-chocolates.com
This is my Uncle's company and all his sales from his AMAZING Chocolates goes to our Non Profit.
We have had some great donations for the Golf Tournament and I will list those companies as soon as I have all the information together! Thank you again to everyone!
Because of all the funding we have received so far we are going to start sending letters to EVERY Urgent Care and Doctor office in the United States. I know this disease is WORLD wide but we have to start small. If I take on the whole world I will get too over-whelmed. ;0)
Thank you to Brent!!!! Because of Brent Walquist with Beta Media Group in New York City we now have a Banner with our name and website on it to use at all of our events! Thank you Brent for your donation!
There are so many other people out there helping us Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Dr Robert Centor not only devotes his career to help teach Dr.s about this disease he also supports us as well! Thank you Dr. Centor http://www.medrants.com/ I hope one day we can meet in person!
Love, Tammy
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Golf Tournament Sat Sept 26th
It will be held Sat Sept 26th @ 7:00am, (Shotgun Start) at the Sugar Creek Golf Course in Fenton MO.
There will be Golf Pro Awards, Cash Awards for 1st place in multiple flights, Prizes for longest drive & closest to pin, $25,000 hole in one prize, Unlimited Beer, Soda, Water, A Grilled lunch, Optional Skins game for $5 per golfer, Prize Raffle and 50/50 Raffle all of this for only $99.95.
I have uploaded the information sheet as well as the sign up sheet to the right of this post. Please right click on them and select print picture. Please pass around to every golfer you know. This will be lots of fun and you are helping 2 organizations!
If you would like more information please email me.
sunflwz2@yahoo.com
Thank you!!
Love, Tammy
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Happy Father's Day!
We have a few events that we will begin working on for Sept. First is our first Lemierre's Walk! This will be sometime in the middle of Sept., I'm not 100% sure on the date yet. The next is a Golf Tournament we were asked to be a part of. This will be held Sept 26th at the Sugar Creek Golf Course located near Fenton. This is going to be a fun event for anyone that golfs. There will be great prizes!! Food and drinks included in the price to participate. There will be teams of 4 so if you and 3 your friends want to join in let me know! Or just you we can always pair you up with others. IF you would like a flyer for this event please email me @ sunflwz2@yahoo.com. I will post the flyer for this event on this site as soon as I have it ready. I will begin sending out letters for donations to local stores or businesses for items like bottle waters or anything else they would like to donate to us for these events. If you know of a business or you your self would like to donate please email me @ sunflwz2@yahoo.com. I will make a large banner with all of our supporters names on it. We appreciate everything everyone has done for this Corporation!
Love,
Tammy
Friday, May 15, 2009
lemierresyndrome.com is # 3 !!!!
From what I read on his website Michael has been released from the hospital you can read about his recent surgery @ http://www.prayformichael.com/
Also I have had 2 cases emailed to me this week. One is a 4 yr old boy! I told both of their family's our thoughts and prayers are with them.
I received the short sleeve T Shirts yesterday so they are in and ready to be purchased! ;0)
Thank you everyone!
MUCH LOVE,
Tammy
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day
We went to the cemetery to visit my mom's mom, my 2 sisters Mandy & Ashley and my lil bro Justin. Then we all went back to my house and my sister and I made dinner for everyone.
It is so hard to believe just 1 year ago today Justin's battle ended and our battle began! I feel like this year has gone by so fast however I feel like it has been so long since I've seen or talked to my little brother. It feels like just yesterday I was going to sleep scared out of my mind that my phone was going to ring any min and tell me to come say goodbye. Tonight it has been exactly 1 year since I left the hospital feeling so helpless and scared. And at 2 am it will be exactly 1 year that my mom called and told me it's time. May 12th will always be the happiest day of my life as well as the saddest. It is the day I married my best friend as well as the day (one year later) I lost my little brother.
To me May 12 is my little brother's 1 year anniversary of receiving his wings so I feel privileged to be able to share that special day as my wedding anniversary as well.
We have come so far and met so many people in the last year. We have so much more to do and so many more Dr.'s to teach and get in front of to help us fight this disease. All we can do right now is talk and hand out brochures and teach everyone we know. We have been told by many people that we need to get this in front of Oprah! ;0) That would be amazing if we could catch her eye. Maybe one day we will. Thank you to everyone for helping us along the way! I have had so many people ask me how they can help and all we can do right now is talk talk talk. Pass out brochures, try to get Doctors involved and help us spread the word! Lemierre's Syndrome is what the CDC concider a "Orphan disease"
A disease which has not been "adopted" by the pharmaceutical industry because it provides little financial incentive for the private sector to make and market new medications to treat or prevent it.
An orphan disease may be:
A rare disease. According to US criteria, an orphan disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 people. (There are more than 5,000 such rare disorders.)
A common disease that has been ignored (such as tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid, and malaria) because it is far more prevalent in developing countries than in the developed world. (www.medterms.com)
I'm not really sure what we can do to get this disease in front of their face and make them see it is coming back and Doctors right now do not know enough about it to stop it.
I have emailed them 4 times in the last few months so maybe if we all shoot an email to them putting Lemierre's in front of their face and make them see we need to teach Doctors about this disease! All we can do is try and it is something that only takes a few min. www.cdc.gov
Thank you!
Love,
Tammy
Friday, May 1, 2009
Another family in mourning
The family gave permission to run an article in their home town newspaper, the Justin E Rodgers Foundation is mentioned a few times!
Thank you so much for helping us get this word out!
http://memphisdemocrat.com/2009/news/090430_hunt.shtml
I spoke with Dr. Centor earlier this week. We are going to be working together and coming up with a way to promote our website and get our name out there and help Dr.'s become more aware!
Tonight is our "A Life to Remember" Prom in Justin's name! I hope everything goes well and I'm sure he will be there with us!
We love you little brother and please help Kegan's family! They need all the love and support they can get right now!
Love,
Tammy
Monday, April 20, 2009
One year ago
It really feels like just yesterday all of this happened. I feel like just yesterday I was telling my little brother when he was first admitted to the hospital "All of this to get out of School." Just kidding of course! I also teased him by not wanting to kiss him goodbye because I didn't want to get what he had and pass it along to my 6 week old. MAN DO I REGRET THAT!!! Because that was the last time I ever got to talk to him again!
We have gone from never hearing of Lemierre's, to dealing with it first hand, to trying to find information and research it online, to dealing with the aftermath, to starting a non profit to help others learn about it. All in one year. I can not believe all the emails I get from people all over the world not just the US but the world that have been affected by Lemierre's in some way.
I do want to thank all of you that send me your stories, comments and especially the questions. I would still believe everything on the Internet about this being such a rare disease if it wasn't for all of you who have shared your stories with me. I no longer believe this is a rare disease I know believe this is a disease that Dr's and so many other people out there have never heard of. And they want to learn everyone always asks me the same questions, what are the symptoms?, what is it?, what does it do to your body and how do you get it? Now we can answer all of those questions and more on our new website. lemierresyndrome.com
Shortly we will be working with Dr. Centor. He has years and years of knowledge about this disease and he is willing to share what he can with us to fight this thing and teach Dr.'s about it so it can be diagnosed and treated faster.
We have lots of fundraising events planned one of them is just next week. It is not really a fundraiser just a way to remember Justin close to the one year anniversary of when he received his angel wings! We are having a Benefit Dinner / Prom. Anyone in the St. Louis area is still welcome to come please email me. The cost is $30 per person.
Hopefully we will be holding a Lemierre's walk sometime in Sept maybe around his birthday, we have a golf outing planned for Sept too!
I will keep all of our events updated on the Contact Us / Events page at lemierresyndrome.com
Justin I heard a song the other day, of course by Rascal Flatts you know me I love them!! ;0) Anyway it had the most perfect lyrics every single word they sang reminded me of you and how much we MISS and LOVE you!!!! I won't type out the whole song but I have to tell you this one part! I'm sure you have heard me sing it to you a million times already! The name of the song is "Forever" there are about 4 other songs on their album that remind me soo much of you
"I miss you so much, your light, your smile your way & everything about us! Though your gone, your still here, in my heart in my tears. Yeah you sure left your mark you were just getting started. It wasn't long enough together but it was long enough to last forever! "
Love to all!
Tammy
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter
This was the last Holiday we had with Justin.
Justin went to the hospital April 16th last year.
I remember telling my mom that he will be ok, he just needs some rest and good meds. Thinking he had pneumonia but I knew after just 2 days something was seriously wrong!
So much has happened since then.
I received our official noticed from the IRS we are a 501 (c) (3) non profit corporation.
Thank you to everyone that has supported us and helped get our name out there.
Speaking of the website we have a NEW ONE!!!!!!
www.lemierresyndrome.com
Pass it around to everyone.
I have received 4 new Lemierre's stories in the past 2 weeks. A few of them were at least 2 hours away from St. Louis. Thank you so much for sharing your stores and experience with me.
If you want to come to our first benefit dinner May 1st please send me your address!
sunflwz2@yahoo.com
Thank you!
Love,
Tammy
We will never forget you baby brother! We will always love you and you will always be in our heart. Cruz told me the other day he misses you and I told him to talk to you that you listen you just can't talk back. He says he can't wait to see you again!! Allen reminds Cruz of all the fun times you had like last year at Grandma and Grandpa's @ Easter wrestling around. And bugging you when you had all your friends over. We all can't wait to see you again. WE LOVE YOU
love your big sister!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Short Sleeve T Shirts
They are $8 for S - XL and $9.50 for XXL and up. You can us our paypal check out here in our website or you can mail me a check. If you will be mailing me a check please email me and I will send you my mailing address. I am also going to drop the price of the Long Sleeve T-shirts to $11.00.
THANK YOU!!
LOVE,
Tammy Valencia
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Since my last post
Justin would have been a senior this year at Eureka Senior High in MO. Prom is just around the corner and we have decided to throw a Remembrance Dinner / Prom to remember Justin and help get out awareness of this disease that took him from us. If you would be interested in going please send me your mailing address so I can send you a invitation.
Sunflwz2@yahoo.com is the email address to send it to.
We will also be holding the first Lemierre's Walk sometime in late May or early June. More information will be posted on these 2 events as the Days become closer.
I have found many people effected by this disease on Facebook and Myspace. All I did was search the word Lemierre within these 2 websites and many people popped up. On Face book there was even a support group called "Tears for Lemierre's" and a few groups Saying please pray for ..... they are in the hospital with Lemierre's. Just about everyone of those people on Facebook and Myspace all said the same thing.... "I came down with a rare disease", "the Dr's say it's so rare.." OR " leave it to me to come down with this rare disease" I wish these people would really see how rare it really is not.
We are still working on our very first project in teaching Dr's about this disease. Or getting them to want to learn more about it. I'm in the middle of pricing out the items we want to send these Dr's. We will first begin with Infectious Disease Dr's then go from there. Our first priority is getting our website up and running.
I am also going to be ordering short sleeve T shirts here in the next couple weeks. If you or your family are interested please email me and let me know sizes and I will add you to our list.
Sunflwz2@yahoo.com
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Love,
Tammy
Sunday, February 1, 2009
E Script
Thank you for your support!
Love,
Tammy
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
What's new with us
Sunflwz2@yahoo.com
Don't forget we have Long Sleeve T Shirts available. If you do not want to use pay pal to pay for them that is fine just email me and I will give you the address to send the check to.
Thank you!
Tammy
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Hidden Valley event!
We gave out lots of brochures and taught so many people about this disease! Thank you to Hidden Valley, S.O.K.A, Monster, US Cellular, Fox Creek Outfitters, Jennifer with her awesome scarves, All of my family!!!, Z107.7, 1057 the Point, Y98 for the interview!! Everyone that was involved THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! Amity you are amazing and I love you!
This is really a HUGE help for us! Our first major thing we are going to do as a non profit is send out literature and something catchy to all of these infectious disease Dr's. They are the ones that need to learn about this disease! And because of this fundraiser we are going to be able to do just that!!! I will keep everyone updated on what we are going to send them.
We now have a brochure that answers the different common questions that we have been asked about Lemierre's. If you are interested in receiving some brochures from us, so you can pass around to your Dr or family please email me.
Sunflwz2@yahoo.com
Many families have emailed me telling me they are spreading the word in their area and was curious on how they can help us in this fight.
This is one way that doesn't cost a penny. Email me and I can send you some brochures to pass out to at least 3 Dr's If every one did this it would surely help our fight! Talking about this disease and making our Dr's learn more about it is they way to win!!
Thank you all VERY much and check back soon!
I have added the T shirts to our paypal check out!! When you get your shirt take it and hold it up in the light! You'll get a surprise! Make sure to have a tissue nearby!!
Love,
TAMMY
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Z107.7 & 105.7 The Point
http://www.z1077.com/cc-common/mainheadlines3.html?feed=120074&article=4805317
http://www.1057thepoint.com/Point-Event-Calendar/Details.aspx?ID=107120
This is going to be a great time! Come hang out and help support a good cause. Even if you do not Ski or Snowboard. It is free to come in and hang out!!! Ski and snowboard pass amounts can be found @ www.hiddenvalleyski.com
Thank you!
Tammy
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Sat Jan 10th J-Rod Jam @ Hidden Valley
I have hung flyers @ the Eureka & Fenton St. Louis Bread Co, Solid Rock Cafe in downtown Eureka, at National City Bank at the entrance to Augustine Heights, Fox Creek Outfitters and Schnucks in Eureka too. Please stop by and get one or email me and I can send you one. Pass this flyer around to everyone you know! This is a great thing Hidden Valley and all the other sponsors are doing for us! They include S.O.K.A, Fox Creek Outfitters, Monster, The Point, Z1077, US Cellular, and many more!! There will be a contest "Jib for Justin" @ 2pm and a raffle. We will have T Shirts available there as well as bracelets, decals, ribbons, scarves all sorts of stuff to help us spread awareness of this disease! If you don't Ski or Snowboard that's OK! We will be hanging out in the Lounge as well! And to do that is free!!!!! ORRRR now is the time to learn! They have lesson available!
We will have donation canisters set up and Snowflakes you can purchase and write your name on or a little note to Justin and it will be hung up in the Lodge all year long!
Amity and the staff at Hidden Valley have been absolutely amazing during this tough time so lets thank them and get as many people as possible up to Hidden Valley Sat Jan 10th from 9 am - ???? until we decide to leave! ;0)
Justin will be there in spirit so please bring us your stories if you knew him personally we love to hear them!!
Thank you!
LOVE,
Tammy
Justin's news article in the West Magazine
Rockwood student dies rapidly from little-known disease
By Diane Plattner
In April, Eureka High School student Justin Rodgers began to complain of a severe sore throat and was dead approximately one month later from an unfamiliar disease. Now, his mother hopes to spread awareness about the deadly disease.
Justin died in the early morning hours of May 12, the day after Mother’s Day, after losing a battle with Lemierre’s Syndrome, a serious bacteria that is not well-known and even doctors are prone to misdiagnose the disease. Unfortunately, Rodgers’ doctor was among that group after initially diagnosing him with strep throat on April 11, said Sheryl Rodgers, Justin’s mother.
“Justin had said, ‘Mom, this is the worst sore throat I’ve ever had in my life,’” Rodgers said.
She said that Justin’s doctor took no throat culture and gave her son medicine for strep throat. She said her son’s condition worsened over the next few days during which he had increased high fever, chest pain and a lump in his neck. On April 14, Rodgers took her son to St. Anthony’s Hospital, which transported him overnight to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital where he underwent extensive testing, including X-rays and blood work, Rodgers said.
Rodgers said that hospital officials diagnosed him with Lemierre’s Syndrome, a bacteria that can surface after mouth trauma. Last July, Justin was in a car accident that resulted in mouth injuries that required him to get major dental work, including a recent new tooth. In addition, Justin had suffered a broken nose just before the onset of his sore throat, his mother said.
“I wonder if all this woke up the bacteria, which was already living in the body,” Rodgers said.
The last time Rodgers saw him fully awake was a few days later, when hospital officials decided to place her son on a respirator and sedate him with drugs.
“He was out of it but still with us then,” Rodgers said. “He would frown when the doctors worked on him. So he had some responses.”
However, Justin’s lungs kept collapsing, prompting hospital doctors by April 25 to place him on an ECMO machine to help rest his lungs and heart. Doctors at that point also put him into an induced coma, Rodgers said.
“At that point there was no response from Justin,” Rodgers said. “Still, I talked to him and rubbed his sore spots to let him know we were there.”
By Mother’s Day, Justin was leaking too much blood, prompting doctors to decide to remove him from the ECMO, a move they said was risky if his lungs were not healed enough.
“Once they took him off the ECMO, Justin’s face was getting gray,” Rodgers said. “He was holding his own for a few hours, but then he starting going downhill.”
Justin died early the next morning following Mother’s Day with his immediate family, including three older siblings, by his side, Rodgers said.
“He was our baby,” Rodgers said. “I think the hospital tried to keep him going so he did not die on Mother’s Day.”
The tragedy is not the first for the Rodgers family. They also lost a 4-year-old child in a horseback riding accident and had a stillborn child many years ago, Rodgers said.
“I thought God could not possibly do this to us again,” Rodgers said. “I asked why again, why us. But there is no answer. Here we are walking on egg shells again.”
Rodgers said she was at least thankful that Justin’s funeral was so big that people were standing outside, a huge tribute to his life. She also hopes to honor his life with a campaign to help spread awareness about Lemierre’s Syndrome, which she said often hits people between the ages of 14 and 25. It is not spread by kissing but instead lives in the body, she said. Her goal is to make people, including doctors, more aware of its symptoms so they are not mistaken for strep throat.
“I do not want Justin to have died in vain,” Rodgers said. “This is one bad bacteria. It is very serious. People should not treat it lightly.”
To learn more about Lemierre’s Syndrome, visit the Rodgers’ family Web site at lemierresyndromejrodgers.blogspot.com.