![High School Junior Lost 26 Pounds in Seven Days from Stevens Johnson Syndrome](/images/articles2/stevens-johnson-syndrome-sjs-27-6.jpg)
That night, he was in the emergency room at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. And while doctors there had little experience with SJS, having only seen one other case, Taylor was nonetheless diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome and moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the hospital.
SJS often begins with strange sores, or with a Stevens Johnson Syndrome rash, amidst other indicators such as flu-like symptoms. However, once SJS emerges, it can be rapid and fierce, as was the case with Taylor.
“His type of Stevens-Johnson syndrome...can attack the mucous membranes or the skin,” Holli Nelson said, in comments published in the World-Herald. “It basically went from the top of his eyes to the bottom of his lungs and anything in between.”
As his condition worsened, doctors considered transferring their patient to another hospital more experienced with Stevens Johnson Syndrome symptoms. However, with Taylor’s immune system severely depleted, doctors were concerned he may pick up something at another hospital, including influenza.
“His throat began to close because of swelling, and they were going to intubate him and put a breathing tube down his throat, and then they would have flown him to a different hospital,” Taylor’s mother said, in comments published in the World-Herald. “The doctors’ fear was that his immune system was so low that they did not want to risk him picking up something else from another hospital.”
READ MORE STEVENS JOHNSON SYNDROME (SJS) LEGAL NEWS
“I was pretty scared,” Taylor had said afterwards of his ordeal. “I don’t remember much - it was all a blur and it was pretty frightening.”
All because he was prescribed a simple antibiotic for an infection. Stevens Johnson Syndrome can be triggered through an allergic reaction to either prescription and even over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Plaintiffs in SJS lawsuits have complained to their Stevens Johnson Syndrome lawyers that warnings on medication labels continue to be inadequate. Taylor Nelson is a junior at Gering High School in Scottsbluff.