22-year-old youth contracts pneumonia, slips into coma and wakes up a month later -- only to require amputation

A 22-year-old youth escaped from the jaws of death thrice in a month, contracting pneumonia, slipping into a coma before waking up a month later in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) -- only to have to amputate his fingers and calves due to gangrene. 

The youth, a student at Nanyang Polytechnic, is the middle child to a 24-year-old elder sister and a 17-year-old younger sister, reports Lianhe Wanbao via Lianhe Zaobao.

He recounted the turbulent events to reporters from National University Hospital on Thursday (Mar 2). 

It had begun with a persistent fever in Oct 2016 .

The fever would not subside, and he collapsed in his house on the third day of his fever. 

He was subsequently rushed to a hospital where doctors diagnosed that he had adenoviral pneumonia. 

According to his elder sister, during the course of the next four weeks, there was water in his lungs, and many of his internal organs were severely affected as well. 

In fact, the youth was in danger of dying. 

She said:

“The doctors even told me mother to prepare for the worse.”

Subsequently, doctors forced her brother into an induced state of coma while they work to alleviate the symptoms and stabilise his condition. 

However, his blood pressure started to decrease rapidly during treatment, the doctors had to administer adrenaline.

As a side effect of the medication, his vision and kidney functions were affected.

The youth’s brain was also bleeding and there was a 60% of death. 

After immense efforts by the doctors, the youth managed to survive the ordeal, and awoke from coma a month later.

Unfortunately, the medication reduced his blood circulation and he had developed gangrene.

Said the brave survivor:

“After I awoke in Nov 2016, I found that my fingers had turned black and the doctors told me that I had to amputate them to live.

“I went for the amputation operation in Jan 2017.

“However, my calves started showing symptoms of gangrene as well.”

The youth went for a second round of amputation yesterday (Mar 3).