Doctor's Quick Diagnosis May Have Saved Life of Patient with SJS

Detroit Lake, MNA Minnesota boy diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) may owe his life to the speedy diagnosis of a local doctor, according to his mother.

Seth O'Neill was hospitalized in July 2008 with a case of pneumonia, for which he was prescribed antibiotics as treatment. When his lips and face began to swell the next day, Dr Anita Jonason quickly recognized the early stages of SJS and had Seth transferred to an emergency treatment center in Fargo.

SJS, a life-threatening illness that causes large areas of the skin to become detached and lesions to develop in the mucus membranes, is typically caused by a severe allergic reaction to medications including antibiotics, anticonvulsants, sedatives and painkillers.

What followed was a nightmarish month during which the boy could not eat or sleep due to painful lesions on his esophagus and the constant need to check his vital signs. He lost almost all of his hair (though it has since grown back) and developed scars on his eyes and most likely on his lungs and esophagus, according to the Detroit Lakes-Online.

Seth's mother credits the attending physician's speedy diagnosis for her son's survival.

"Dr. Anita diagnosed Seth before he even had one blister," Cheri O'Neill, Seth's mother, told the news provider. "In our book, she is a hero."