A toddler had to have his leg amputated after contracting a deadly condition that has similar symptoms to the common cold.
The parents of little Loki Whiteside thought the 17-month-old only had a cold – but he was instead suffering from septic shock.
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Mum Naomi took Loki to see a doctor when his temperature started to rise, and he was immediately rushed to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Doctors were forced to amputate the toddler’s leg, saving his life.
Naomi, of Sutton Coldfield, said: ‘The doctor recognised it as potentially septicaemia and rushed us straight to hospital in an ambulance.
‘It was all go from there. It happened so quickly.
‘One minute he was playing with his cousins, running round the house, the next minute he was in intensive care, being treated for septic shock.’
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The life-threatening condition occurs when blood pressure drops to a dangerously low level and reduces the amount of blood and oxygen that reach the body’s organs, stopping them from working properly.
It can occur as a complication of sepsis, which happens when the body’s reaction to an infection damages its own tissues and organs.
Naomi added: ‘They tried to give him drugs to save as much of his leg as they could, but they ended up having to take it from above the knee.
‘At one point, they thought he would have to lose his fingertips too – but fortunately they were able to save them.’
More: UK
Six weeks after Loki was admitted to hospital in February, he remains on the burns unit and requires 24/7 care.
But he is doing well, his mum said, which is great news as she and husband Rob are expecting their second child in June.
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