I can not believe I missed it. Now that I have 4 VERY active kids I never get to sit and watch TV. I learned from Stephanie Dean that Lemierre's was shown on House tonight!!! I am super excited but super bummed that I missed it.
You can watch episodes that are 8 days old on their website so it looks like next Tues I will be watching House on my computer!! I remember when we emailed them asking to add Lemierre's to their story line because it is such a strange unknown about disease!
I believe it is the episode called "Confessions" I do not think he ends up having Lemierre's but atleast it is mentioned!
xoxoxox
Tammy
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Justin's news article in the West Magazine
This was taken from http://www.westnewsmagazine.com/news02.html
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.
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.
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4 comments:
Hi Tammy! I am a Lemierre's survivor. I was diagnosed in April 2010 and spent a very scary 12 days on ECMO at the wonderful Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. Luckily the doctors there recognized my symptoms quickly and the ECMO team there is well known for putting adults on ECMO with success. I recovered pretty quickly after "waking up" and being taken off ECMO, and was completely back to normal by September 2010. A friend of mine told me that Lemierre's was mentioned on House yesterday, so I spent some time googling and found your blog. I truly feel for you and your family and cannot imagine what you all went through. Seeing my family and my fiance (now husband) in so much pain while I was sick was heartbreaking. I will be purchasing some wristbands from you! Thank you for creating awareness!
Hi Tammy,
I lost my 19 year old son Jim on August 19, 2010. He was diagnosed with Meningitis due to Fusobacterium necrophorum (in other words Lemierrs's Syndrome). He was diagnosed four days after being admitted into the hospital but the bacteria went to his brain and a week later he was gone. My older sister who is an RN was just starting her studies to become a nurse practitioner at the time of his death. She almost quit her studies when Jim passed away, but her family and several of her colleges encouraged her to continue. She passed her certification to be a nurse practitioner this past week.
She called me on her way home to tell me the news about the test, and to tell me about the last challenge of the testing process to become a nurse practitioner. The last challenge was to present a patient’s symptoms and the other participations were suppose to guess the diagnosis. There was another person who was giving a presentation on the symptoms of Lemierrs’s Syndrome and how it can sometimes be misdiagnosed because it hides in other illnesses. Of course this information was not given at first just the symptoms and my big sister was the first person to guess the diagnosis. The person also gave reference to Justin’s battle and your web page to raise awareness.
I just wanted to let you know that the awareness is spreading and now there is a group of about 32 new nurse practitioners that were discussing Lemierrs’s Syndrome because of your efforts.
James Charles "Jim" Nixon
January 21, 1991 – August 19, 2010
Lost because of Lemierrs's Syndrome
Hi there, my best friends daughter (3 years old) was admitted in to the ICU Friday evening...crashed multiple times Saturday...finally intubated on Sunday...CAT Scan on Monday....diagnosed with Lemierre's Monday evening. They found the blood clot in her jugular. Her lungs are literally EATEN UP with the infection and she's currently in an induced coma. When I found your blog I was a bit shocked....to know your brother was ill with it for a full month and did not survive...it brings the reality of our sweet Caroline to the surface. Thank you for sharing your brother's story - it's given me some insight....praying hard right now for sweet Caroline!
Our family lost our son Joshua to this horrible Syndrome, we thought we were alone, and have never heard of anyone else suffering a loss due to this. Josh died in 2005 and he was only 16. Josh was only sick for 10 days before passing. They didn't figure out what took till after he died. They misdiagnosed him as having Mono. We give a scholarship out at our high school in his name every year. I am sorry for your loss.
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