Sebastian DeLeon, a 16-year old camp counselor, was vacationing in Orlando when he suddenly got a severe headache.
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Sixteen-year-old Sebastian DeLeon contracted Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba, while swimming in a South Florida waterway, earlier this month.
Although the infection is very rare, it is extremely lethal, killing 97 percent of people infected.
DeLeon was visiting an Orlando theme park when he developed such an intense headache that he could not tolerate people touching him, said Dr. Humberto Liriano, pediatric intensivist.
Doctors at Florida Children’s Hospital were also able to get quick access to a rare medication now being investigated by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention called “miltefosine”, which has shown some promise in killing the amoeba.
His family immediately brought him to the hospital, where doctors confirmed DeLeon was infected with the amoeba called Naegleria fowleri.
DeLeon remained in an induced coma for days with medical staff monitoring his vital signs.
Within days, tests showed DeLeon was free of the amoeba.
“We watched and waited for Sebastian while he was in the coma”, Liraino said.
“We are very optimistic”, he said. I saw him this morning, he’s ready to go home, he’s not ready to leave yet, but he’s ready to go home. “We believe, optimistically, he will recover and get rehab”.
“We are so thankful that God has given us a miracle through this medical team and this hospital for having our son back, having him full of life”, Brunilda Gonzalez said.
DeLeon’s mother thanked the “wonderful team” at the hospital that treated her son.
No word yet on when he’ll be released from the hospital. It enters the body through the nose and makes its way to the brain, where it destroys the brain tissue, causing what’s known as Primary amebic meningoencephalitis or PAM.
The amoeba is at it’s highest population during hot weather and lives in lakes, rivers, and hot springs worldwide.
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Initial symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting and a stiff neck.
