A Tennessee teen battling a life-threatening bacterial infection leads to a drastic medical decision, AZ Family reported Saturday.
13-year-old Anita Navas has been fighting for her life at Erlanger Children’s Hospital for more than two weeks, facing a prognosis that could extend her hospital stay to half a year, according to AZ Family. The ordeal began unexpectedly on Christmas Day, prompting her mother, Jenny Dill, to rush Anita to the emergency room.
“I just said we’re going to the emergency room. We’re not going to take a chance,” Dill said. Since going to the hospital, her family has been a constant presence by her bedside. Anita’s sister, Cynthia, explains that Anita was diagnosed with both strep group A and flu type B, a combination that triggered a severe response in her body, necessitating a medically induced coma.
“They put her on a lot of blood pressure medication to raise it. And this kind of restricted the blood flow to her extremities because they were concerned about keeping her alive,” Cynthia said, AZ Family noted.
The situation quickly escalated as Anita’s blood pressure plummeted. In a bid to save her life, doctors administered a series of blood pressure medications, the outlet reported. This life-saving measure, however, had a dire consequence: it restricted blood flow to her extremities. The lack of circulation took a toll on Anita’s limbs.
Faced with a harrowing choice, medical professionals made the decision to amputate Anita’s legs below the knees. “Her legs had to go. Because there was no blood flow, and her legs were turning black,” Cynthia further shared. (RELATED: California Toddler Loses Use Of All Four Limbs After Choking On Sticky Candy, Lawsuit Alleges)
The Navas family turned to Facebook to share Anita’s story and the response was overwhelming. “Within the first hour we had reached over 20,000 people and now it’s over 100,000,” Cynthia said, AZ Family reported.
Anita gears up for her next surgery scheduled Friday morning, according to AZ Family.