A mistake made during gym practice cost a mother her son’s life.
Now, as a result of a teacher’s oversight, the woman sends an urgent plea to parents to keep their children safe.
Usually, when a child makes the cut in school, it’s good news. But for a 12-year-old boy, it was the end of his life.
Student Rory Staunton was in gym class when he ended up with a cut on his arm.
It happened when the Jackson Heights, New York, student attempted to dive for a ball, but wound up falling instead.
Instead of calling the school nurse, the gym teacher decided to treat Rory’s wound himself. However, when he placed two Band-Aids on the cut, he never actually sanitized the wound first.
The incident occurred on a Wednesday, in March of 2012, but by the Thursday, Rory was experiencing some unusual side effects from the cut.
By the time the boy saw his pediatrician, he was suffering from leg pain and a 104-degree fever.
Rory was then taken to the NYU Langone Medical Center’s E.R. when his condition continued to worsen.
Initially, doctors assumed his prognosis was dehydration, which was an easy fix.
Doctors then treated Rory with IV fluids and was released from the hospital.
The boy was also prescribed Tylenol for his fever and medication to treat his upset stomach and nausea. Nothing seemed to work.
Rory’s fever wasn’t going away, so his parents, Orlaith and Ciaran Staunton took him back to the E.R. on the Friday.
This is when doctors told them that Rory’s condition was more serious than they had anticipated.
It turned out that the cut he received had actually sent Rory into septic shock.
The cause of this immunological reaction stemmed from the bacteria from the cut he got earlier that week, and sadly, his prognosis was a serious one.
Despite every attempt made by his doctors, Rory passed away in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Sadly, it turned out he was suffering from a condition that kills millions of people each year.
Doctors learned that Rory had passed away from Sepsis, which kills 30 million people a year.
Fortunately for most people, Sepsis is actually preventable and even curable if you know what to look for.
Doctors have a tough time diagnosing Sepsis because the symptoms can mimic other conditions like dehydration.
Now, Rory’s parents are begging others to pay close attention when their child gets cut so they won’t suffer the same loss they did.