Mr Maynard was released from hospital in May 2023.
When many of us catch a cold, we usually hope to recover within a few days. That’s the hypothesis made by Jared Maynard, a 33-year-old weightlifter, physical therapist and father of three from Ontario, Canada, when he started experiencing the sniffles in January last year. But he quickly realized that he was wrong.
Mr. Maynard, along with his wife and three daughters, all appeared to have come down with what initially appeared to be a mild cold. While his daughters and wife recovered within a week, Mr. Maynard’s condition worsened. Little by little, his skin took on a yellow tint and he began to suffer from delirium, People reported.
Subsequent hospital tests revealed that his illness was not a cold, but rather a virus that had triggered a rare immune system disorder, causing his liver and kidneys to stop functioning. Doctors diagnosed him with life-threatening hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a disease that triggers the immune system to attack the body as if it were a foreign invader, especially in the presence of a virus.
Placed on life support, Mr Maynard’s prognosis appeared grim as doctors prepared for what they believed would be his final days. HLH is relatively rare, with uncertain prevalence. A study led by internists at Rochester General Hospital identified 16,136 cases of the disease in the United States between 2006 and 2019, with a mortality rate estimated at 40% by doctors at the Lyon Immunopathology Federation in France.
HLH manifests itself in two forms: one linked to genetics and the other triggered by viral or bacterial infections. In Mr. Maynard’s case, doctors determined that his HLH developed in response to the Epstein-Barr virus, commonly known as mono or kissing disease. While mono usually resolves with adequate rest within a few weeks, the combination of mono and HLH led to organ failure in Mr. Maynard.
In late January, he was sedated and placed on a ventilator and dialysis. Despite standard treatment for HLH involving a chemotherapy regimen, Mr Maynard’s weakened condition prevented the treatment from being fully administered. Initially doubting his chances of survival, his doctors initiated palliative care, anticipating his imminent decline. However, to their astonishment, Mr. Maynard began to show signs of recovery in March.
“It was enough to earn me the nickname ‘Miracle Man’ actually,” Mr Maynard said. Jam News.
During his treatment, Mr. Maynard lost 43 pounds. “My doctors told me that if I wasn’t as fit and strong as I was, I probably wouldn’t have survived,” he said.
Mr. Maynard was released from the hospital in May 2023. He had to relearn how to walk, sit, stand and even breathe, speak and swallow again.
Despite recovering his motor skills, nerve damage in his feet caused by chemotherapy caused persistent pain and difficulty regaining his sense of smell. Yet his goal remained unwavering: to rebuild his strength. As a strength coach, weightlifting became his therapy.
Since restarting in June 2023, he has worked his way up to lifting an impressive 465 pounds. But his greatest pride? Take back his daughters. The ability to hold all three, he shared, “felt like a piece of my heart had been restored.”
“I wish people knew that building muscle, strength and physical resilience is the best life insurance policy you can take out,” he said, adding: “It’s too easy to last on your list of priorities between work, school, children and other obligations,” he said.
“We all think we have time to get our act together, until we don’t. I found that out the hard way,” he concluded.
News Source : www.ndtv.com
Gn Health
