GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — An extremely rare case of strep throat that almost killed an Alto man has instead taken his hands and feet.
Kevin Breen, 44, was healthy and active when he started feeling sick on Christmas Day.
“It didn’t seem that unusual,” he said.
Days later, the unbearable stomach pain sent him to the emergency room.
“I never thought (I’d be) going in for a stomachache and coming out a totally different person and (it’s) life-changing,” said Breen.
“He was one of the sickest patients I have ever taken care of,” said Dr. Elizabeth Steensma, an acute care surgeon at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital.
Although Breen’s son had had strep and fought it off, Steensma didn’t think this was the same type of infection. Breen’s stomach was growing and hardening. A CT scan showed his stomach was filled with puss.
Doctors thought maybe an organ was punctured, but they couldn’t find anything.
“It was almost a mystery,” said Steensma.
While doctors tried to pinpoint the source of the problem, Breen’s organs began failing. In an effort to save those organs, his body redirected blood flow to them — leaving the flesh of his hands and feet to die.
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