Shimi's Father: "We Thought It Was a Wound, It Turned Out to Be the Flesh-Eating Bacteria"

When Shimi, a one-year-old baby from Beitar Illit, fell on the sidewalk and hit his chin, his parents thought it was just a simple dry bruise. A tiny wound formed at the spot, but after cleaning it, they assumed everything was fine. It turned out they were completely wrong.

Almost three weeks have passed since that day, and when we speak with Shimi's father this week, he notes they've experienced a series of miracles and amazing divine guidance since that moment. "Only now are we starting to process what we went through," he says. "This week, I spoke with my wife, and we both concluded that if we knew what was truly happening to our child during those days, we would have certainly lost our minds. The great miracle is that we understood nothing. Hashem concealed it from us, He protected us."

"Suddenly We Realized Something Was Suspicious"

It all started, as mentioned, with a routine fall near home that caused Shimi a tiny cut on the chin. "The next day, we sent him to daycare as usual, but towards noon, the caregivers called us, informing us that the child had a fever and his chin was 'terribly swollen.' "To be honest, we weren’t worried at all," says the father, "because there was no reason to be worried. We took Shimi to the health clinic, the doctor cleaned the chin, removed a small stone he found, and said it was probably causing the infection. He prescribed an antibiotic ointment and oral antibiotics, saying, 'come back for a follow-up.'" However, by evening, it had become scarier. Shimi's entire chin turned red and the color spread towards his cheeks."

What did you do?

"We did what any parent would do. Since it was already late, we took Shimi to the emergency clinic 'Terem'. The doctor examined the wound, looked at the pus seeping from it, and that's when we first began to realize something was suspicious. It was when he asked, 'Are you sure the fall was only yesterday? Because with this level of infection, it looks like it happened several days ago.' We insisted it was a wound from yesterday. The doctor said, 'I believe you, but because of the amount of pus and the persisting fever, I recommend going to the ER."

Shimi's father notes that through divine guidance they arrived at Hadassah Ein Kerem. "We had other nearby hospital options, but we were led to Hadassah from above, which was so beneficial because they were the most professional and best agents there could be. I'm sure we couldn't have found better people."

At the hospital, Shimi underwent an ultrasound to ensure no foreign body had penetrated through the wound, and after confirming the area was clean, the doctors sent him for a blood test. "Even at Hadassah, they asked us the puzzling question—'Are you sure this wound was from yesterday and not four or five days ago?' We insisted the wound was fresh, and we were sure of it," Shimi's father explains.

The Doctors Announced: "It’s the Flesh-Eating Bacteria"

An hour later, the blood test results arrived, and the doctors informed the parents that it was a serious blood infection. "As soon as they realized there was an infection, they admitted Shimi to the department, administered antibiotics through the vein and hoped all would be well," the father says. "But the next day, Shimi woke up, and the doctors noticed the red spot on the chin was nearing the ear. At that moment, they started to really worry, but mainly among themselves. They didn’t share their concerns with us. What we saw was that every moment a senior doctor would come to Shimi’s bed to check his condition. The most senior doctors in infectious diseases saw him, as well as Prof. Caspi, the department head of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and other senior figures from various departments. They all took photos and asked to see what else could be done. The next morning the child awoke and the redness had already reached the neck... it was really frightening. The doctors informed us that surgery was inevitable, and Shimi had already started fasting in preparation for anesthesia. Only in the afternoon did one of the researchers from Hadassah's microbiology department come into the room, with a happy face, informing us: 'We managed to identify the bacteria driving us crazy,' then she announced it was Streptococcus A, known by its frightening name: 'the flesh-eating bacteria.'"

Prof. Nardi Caspi, the head of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at Hadassah, was called to assess the baby's condition. "At this point, it was clear the infection had developed rapidly since the fall," Prof. Caspi tells 'Hidabrut'. "We saw a baby with very swollen and red face not just in the wound area, but over a large part of the face, indicating the severity of the situation. We quickly understood we needed to drain the wound and take a culture, in order to tailor the most appropriate antibiotic treatment for Shimi. Later that evening, under anesthesia, a submental incision was made to drain the infection, a culture was taken for precise mapping of the bacteria, and a drain was inserted. Subsequently, with the involvement of Prof. Alon Moses, the head of the Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Division, tests confirmed the suspicion that it was Streptococcus A, a flesh-eating bacteria, appearing as a severe invasive and life-threatening infection. Shimi was treated with appropriate antibiotics in the Pediatric Surgery Department under strict and constant supervision by infectious disease specialists. "Without a doubt," Prof. Caspi emphasizes, "this showed the importance of having on-call specialists in Oral and Maxillofacial around the clock at the hospital—along with quick parental response to the signs presented by the infant and identification of the severity of his condition in the emergency room. These make the difference between life and death."

What do you feel when you hear that your son's body harbors flesh-eating bacteria?

"The truth is, it wasn't as horrible as it sounds," Shimi's father replies. "Because the hospital staff did everything to avoid panicking us, so along with the grim announcement of the dangerous bacteria's existence, they also explained what a great miracle it was that they identified it and could now treat it. They made us feel we were in the most professional hands and that they knew what they had to do. Only after it was over, and thank Hashem that Shimi recovered and was released ten days later, did we begin investigating the matter. We read data on the number of people affected by the bacteria and lose their lives, and suddenly understood the magnitude of the miracle. Because had we delayed a bit or reached a less professional place, Shimi might not be with us today. I can't even think about that. This whole story began during Chanukah, Shimi was released a week later, and now I can say he was granted a true Chanukah miracle. He was protected for us from above," he concludes with a choked voice.

And we can’t help but ask—did you eventually understand the strange question posed by the doctors who claimed the wound seemed to have been there for a few days and not just one day...

"Yes, only after identifying the Streptococcus did it become clear how it actually entered the body. According to the doctors' claims, this bacteria is found in contaminated areas, and it seems it was in the area where Shimi fell. As soon as there was a tiny wound, the bacteria entered the body through it. Because it is such a deadly bacteria, the damage it caused in one day looked like damage another bacteria would cause throughout a week. Hence this question."