This was taken from
http://www.westnewsmagazine.com/news02.htmlRockwood 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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19 comments:
2012-2013 Flagstaff and tucson Arizona
reading, Pennsylvania 2012
Salt Lake City Utah January 11 2013
Hi Tammy , My name is Cheryl Falzon, i had Lemierres syndrome in March 2002 , i am from London in the UK.
Hi Tammy, my name is Cheryl Falzon, i had Lemierres Syndrome in March 2002, i am from London , England. All the very best for your awarness compain for this forgotton disease.
Allegan, MI
Houston TX 2013
2012 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Albany NY
Murrieta, California 2010
Hi, my name is John Kubilis from Framingham, MA (age 27). I just got out of the hospital after the most terrifying two weeks of my life. This thing hit me out of nowhere. I am pretty much obsessed with health and fitness and am an amateur athlete. I was shocked to find out I almost died from this terrible disease. I lost 20 lbs of muscle in 2 weeks, 175 down to 155..But I was one of the fortunate ones and I am on the road to recovery. It'll be a tough few months, but I know there are those out there who weren't so lucky and my deepest sympathies go out to all the friends and families of those loved ones who weren't diagnosed and treated in time.
If there is anyone out there who can advise me on how to go about exercising while on the antibiotics and blood thinners I would greatly appreciate it.
My husband Ray had lemierres syndrome in April of 2012. We are from Soldotna, Alaska.
Hi
My daughter, now 19 had Lemierres syndrome in 2008. They diagnosed it just in time.
Hanover NH oct 2012
I'm 16 years old (female) and I was diagnosed with lemierre's in january 2014, it was horrible and I spent my 16th birthday in a hospital bed on allsorts of drips and stuff! Hope you can get in touch with me? X
I was diagnosed with Lemierre's one year ago today. March 18, 2013. I am in Longview, Texas
My cousin is 15 and was diagnosed last Thursday in Austin, Texas.
My name is Wendy and I'm a 34 year old woman living in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. October 2nd 2013 I was diagnosed with Lemierre's syndrome and after three weeks I was released from the hospital. Although my body is clean, I sometimes still feel like I'm recovering. But compared to a few months ago I shouldn't complain and I'm very pleased with the recovery up untill now.
Hello, I see this is an old thread but my daughter who is 18, was diagnosed in May 2015 and we almost lost her. Spent about two weeks seeing Dr's and ER visits, just to be told it is a virus. She started with sore throat and swollen left neck. It progressed into her lungs and she was admitted to the ICU because of her blood pressure and heart rate. She had bilateral pneumonia with emboli. While in the hospital she had a pulmonary hemorrhage, coded and was placed on a ventilator for 3 days. She missed her last two weeks of her Senior year and graduation due to this. She is tough and made an amazing comeback and started college on time. We are very thankful to still have her here with us. Knowing that this could have been taken care of earlier with antibiotics(which she was on 3) is very alarming. She was a perfectly healthy child except for ear infections and an occasional strep throat in the past. I would never wish anyone to go through what I witnessed my daughter go through. Nothing helped the pain, the muscle atrophy and weight loss from being bed ridden and the mental fatigue it places on young teens. My pediatricians office is using her case to re-evaluate how they treat. Cincinnati, Ohio
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