14-year-old, Knox Hardy has been facing a tough infection and has been in the hospital since 12/29! Here’s his story:

Several have asked how Knox ended up here and what type of infection he has.

The infection is strep A. Here's the breakdown:

Knox swam in a swim meet on 12/20 that was a distance meet and swam the equivalent of 1.5 miles or more that day. This is important to remember. We will come back to this.

On 12/25, he had several bouts of vomiting and started running fever. After 12/25, he didn't have any other symptoms other than fever and an occasional headache that would come when the fever got over 102 (the fever would go as high as 103.8, but we could bring it down with Tylenol and Motrin). I did a nasal swab for COVID/flu on 12/25 and 12/27 and both were negative. Since he had no other symptoms, I treated it as viral and figured it would need to run its course.

On 12/29, he began complaining of pain in his forearms and his coloring was very green. By the time we got to the pediatrician, he was having difficulty walking and holding his head up. They took one look at him and sent us straight to the ER at CHOG.

At CHOG, they realized he was in septic shock and organ failure. The infection was strep A. We have no idea where he picked up the strep. What's interesting is that the strep probably started in his nose and then found a good nesting spot in a torn or bruised muscle in his left arm (from the swim meet on 12/20). There, it just did its brewing.

The thinking is that by Sunday 12/28, the infection moved to his lungs. Up to that point, his spleen had been working hard to defend his body and fight the strep. When the body asked the spleen to assist with fighting a new site - now the lungs - the spleen had nothing to give. At that point, the toxins overwhelmed his body and organs began to fail as the body worked to protect the brain and heart.

Another complication was added when the infection in the left arm began forming septic embolisms and those ended up lodged in his lungs and wreaking havoc.

So, now we have resolved some of the most critical issues and his organs (spleen, liver, kidneys, heart) are moving back to their normal function ranges.

But, there are still some major infection issues and blood pressure concerns. So, that's where we are now. Infectious disease, nephrology, orthopedics, respiratory, hematology, gastroenterology- I'm not sure who isn't part of our team. -from his mom, Elisabeth Hardy.

God has put this on my heart to start a GoFund me for the Hardy family. This money will help the Hardy Family pay for medical bills, meals, etc. Knox is progressing everyday.