Man’s ingrown hair left him ‘brain dead’ with 4% chance of survival
A man was declared ‘brain dead’ with 4% chance of survival after attempting to remove an ingrown hair.
Steven Spinale, from Texas, was diagnosed with blood poisoning after an infection ravaged his body, a GoFundMe started by his sister, Michelle, says.
The 36-year-old was intubated and then placed in a medically induced coma after a month in hospital to allow him to heal.
Michelle has been documenting her brother’s experience since he was admitted in late 2022.
Videos shared on TikTok show doctors conducting all kinds of tests to check if the dad was showing signs of life.
His sister wrote in a GoFundMe: ‘The doctors are doing everything they possibly can do for him and if anyone could pull through this it is him.
‘Steven is so important to so many people and we need him to fight like he has never fought before. His wife has not left his side so both incomes are now gone.’
She captioned a recent video claiming that doctors said, ‘Steven would not come out of this alive,’ and that she ‘was told he did not have brain activity.’
But videos show the patient opening his eyes to the sound of his sister’s voice, so she never ‘lost faith.’
Michelle added on TikTok: ‘We never lost faith when others did.’
Even before he was hospitalised, doctors were baffled by his symptoms and could not figure out what was wrong with him.
His sister wrote on the GoFundMe: ‘All they could figure out was he was bleeding internally from somewhere.
‘Little did we know that would be the smallest worry.’
While in the hospital, Steven also developed influenza A and double pneumonia in both of his lungs, along with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
He spent three weeks in a coma, but his family never stopped believing that he will recover.
After a multitude of procedures and treatments, he emerged from his coma with no brain damage and has since nearly fully recovered.
Steven has since returned home, and with the assistance of his loved ones, he is relearning how to walk.
In clips, his other sister Lianne can be seen standing behind him and guiding his walking frame.
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