A man is set to lose his fingers and toes today after a month-long battle with the flu.
Joei Smith, 33, was told he had just 24 hours to live when he arrived at the ER in Dallas, Texas on December 29.
Smith, a self-confessed ‘gym head’, had got the flu vaccine early in the season, and was in top shape during his annual physical in mid-December.
But a week later, he started feeling dizzy at work, and that slowly turned into weakness.
Eventually he became so woozy called a friend to take him to urgent care – where he was diagnosed with influenza, sepsis, pneumonia and kidney failure.
Despite fearing he would die, doctors managed to control the viruses, but the drugs’ intensity left his fingers and toes blackened and today they are getting amputated.
Weeks after getting his flu shot and days after his perfect physical, Joei Smith, 33, (pictured) from Dallas felt weak. He went to hospital where he was diagnosed with sepsis, pneumonia, the flu and kidney failure
Speaking ahead of his surgery today, Smith said he was baffled by the entire situation.
‘First of all, I got the flu shot, so I didn’t’ think the flu would be so easy for me to catch,’ he told WFAA.
‘I was a gym head,’ Smith said. ‘I was very fit. Muscular. Very healthy. Ate extremely well.’
Smith explained he had been concerned about this year’s fierce flu strain, which has killed hundreds of Americans, including 50 adults in Dallas and more than 53 children nationwide.
The H3N2 strain which wrecked havoc on Australia during their winter, our summer, is notoriously difficult to combat. The best approach is to be aware of the symptoms, stay clean, and get the flu shot.
Smith said he was doing everything to protect himself – beyond getting the flu shot, he scheduled his annual physical to check his health at the height of the deadly flu season.
And yet, he started feeling the tell-tale signs of muscle weakness just days later.
‘I started feeling dizziness and weakness at work… decided to leave work,’ he said.
At home, his condition dramatically worsened and he called a friend to take him to hospital in North Dallas.
Doctors battled for three hours, from midnight to 3am, to stabilize him before informing him that they weren’t sure he would survive more than a day.
However, their attempt to lower his blood pressure did the trick. But they had an unintended side effect.
‘As a result of the drugs from the high blood pressure that they gave me, it left me with compromised limbs. My hands and my feet,’ Smith said.
On Wednesday, he went into the operating room to have all of his fingers amputated; he will lose his toes later this month.
Today, Joei went into surgery to have all of his fingers amputated
‘All the fingers are basically going to be amputated,’ he said.
‘I’m just so fortunate, that I’m able to share my story. But at the same time, my heart hurts for those that didn’t make it.’
Smith’s case comes just a day after another Texas man revealed he was undergoing multiple amputations due to the flu.
Married father-of-two Brian Herndon, 51, was instantly left with severe complications after he was admitted to the hospital for debilitating illnesses on January 4.
Herndon’s GoFundMe page, set up by loved ones January 26, said the Fort Worth dad also suffered pneumonia and went into septic shock before long.
‘Brian has been facing all kinds of complications… As of today Brian will need prosthetics for both feet and special hand work as parts of every finger have been amputated,’ the devastating post read.