Five year-old Maryland boy dies from the FLU after infection sparked deadly ... trends now
A Maryland mother who lost her son to sepsis is now fighting for increased protocols in hospitals, as the cruel disease continues to kill one American every 90 seconds.
Lochlin DeSantis was just five years old in January 2020 when he came down with the flu. But what is usually a relatively harmless illness turned into a far more sinister disease.
Within two days of the onset of his sore throat and fever, he became unable to walk - moving his legs were oddly agonizingly painful.
Just a day later, Lochlin started losing consciousness - resulting in a frantic rush to the local hospital.
Devastatingly, Lochlin - who his mother describes as an 'old soul' was dead within 12 hours.
Brooke DeSantis described her son, Lochlin (middle) as an 'old soul' who loved giving food to homeless people and longed to volunteer
Lochlin came down with the flu on a Friday and quickly took a turn for the worse. By Monday, he went into organ failure and passed away at just five years old
The little boy's body was attacked by sepsis, an extreme immune system over-reaction that's responsible for one in three hospital deaths and has been dubbed a 'silent killer.'
'Now it's my mission to see that people have access to anything and everything to prevent the spread of infectious disease to keep their family safe,' Lochlin's mother, Brooke DeSantis, a nurse, told DailyMail.com.
'Sadly we weren't able to do that with ours.'
Sepsis is a medical emergency that is caused by the body's extreme reaction to an infection. It occurs when chemicals released in the bloodstream cause the immune system to go haywire.
Instead of sending infection-fighting white blood cells to attack a foreign invader, it targets healthy tissues and organs such as the limbs and the lungs and kidneys.
Infections that lead to sepsis most commonly start in the skin, urinary or respiratory tract, lungs, or digestive system, but almost any infection can lead to sepsis - starting in wounds as innocuous as paper cuts.
According to charity Sepsis Alliance, half of all cases are from an unknown pathogen.
'He had a love of football and family, his friends, hockey. He was one of the kindest kids that I've ever met,' Lochlin's mother, Brooke DeSantis, told DailyMail.com
Mrs DeSantis is now working to raise awareness of sepsis and increase access to vaccines like the flu shot to prevent the disease
Mrs DeSantis said that despite Lochlin's urgent care physician assuring her his symptoms were normal for the flu, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind gave her pause.
'Even though I felt like I shouldn't have listened to [the doctor's] advice, I trusted him. I trusted that I should just go home,' she said. 'And that's exactly what I did. He was a higher licensed medical professional than I am, so I took his advice like he said and took Lochlin home.'
'And that was probably the worst thing that could have happened.'
Sepsis impacts 1.7 million Americans every year, according to the CDC.
Every year, 350,000 Americans die due to sepsis, or one every 90 seconds.
Sepsis Alliance estimates that 75,000 US children develop sepsis every year, roughly 200 a day. This includes more than 5,000 deaths, or 18 every day.
It's the leading cause of death in US hospitals, according to Sepsis Alliance, and it leads to 35 percent of hospital deaths. However, 34 percent of Americans have never heard of it.
Certain groups are more susceptible to the condition, including adults over age 65, children under one year, patients with weakened immune systems, and those who have had sepsis in the past. However, anyone can get it.
There is no single test, but doctors look for signs of infections with measures such as blood tests. Sepsis can progress to septic shock, which is characterized by a severe drop in blood pressure.
Signs of septic shock, according to the Mayo Clinic, include not being able to stand up, extreme fatigue or not being
