A man was declared brain dead and given a four percent chance of surviving after he developed sepsis from plucking an ingrown hair.
Steven Spinale developed blood poisoning following his attempt to remove an ingrown hair from his groin area. But after being in a coma for a month and multiple treatments including open heart surgery, the dad has emerged without brain damage and is recovering.
But videos shared by Steven’s sister Michelle show Steven fighting for his life in hospital when he was placed in a medically-induced coma and underwent open heart surgery. Michelle shared how her brother, who was 36 at the time, got sicker and sicker in the month before he was admitted to hospital.
He had tried to remove the ingrown hair from his leg on his own and ended up developing sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to an infection that takes place when the immune system overreacts and then starts to damage the body’s tissues and their organs. Sharing what happened to her brother on TikTok, Michelle said: “He was turned away at numerous hospitals [who thought] he was making it up.”
“He started vomiting blood and they still sent him home. The next day, my sister had to call 911 because he couldn’t breathe.” Doctors were totally baffled by Steven’s symptoms when he got to hospital. Michelle continued: “All they could figure out was he was bleeding internally from somewhere. Little did we know that would be the smallest worry.”
Then a rare bacteria was discovered in Steven’s bloodstream which started “shutting down all his organs”. Michelle said: “He declined fast until he crashed and was put on life support. He caught a rare bacteria that was ravaging through his body and shutting down all his organs.”
NHS Inform said that Steven’s body went into septic shock and his blood pressure dropped to a dangerously low level after an infection. He then developed a number of issues as time went on, contracting pneumonia in both of his lungs and catching influenza A.
He also developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which meant his lungs didn’t work anymore. Doctors then found that the infection had reached Steven’s heart and “destroyed” it. On top of this, he had a “small stroke”. But Steven couldn’t have surgery because his condition was too severe and so he was intubated and placed into an induced coma. His family were told the dad probably wouldn’t make it out alive.
With his family by his side, Steven spent 18 hours each day being turned from his back over to his chest to remove the pressure build up from his fluid-filled lungs and to improve his oxygen flow. He also went through open heart surgery and had drains put into his chest to remove the excess fluid.
Then, after being in a coma for a month and having multiple treatments, Steven emerged with no brain damage and is on the way to recovery. Posting on 29 November 2022, Michelle described how “Steven has a long road ahead of him but he is steadily on his way”. He is learning how to sit up on his own, which is amazing.”
The sister shared how she got to watch her brother regain the sparkle after having “dead, sunken eyes”. He left the hospital in a wheelchair but by the end of last year, Steven was starting to regain his ability to walk.
Captioning the clip, Michelle said: “I still go back to when they told us Steven was brain dead and that we should take him off life support. What a journey.”
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
