A 19-year-old student ate some leftover Chinese takeout food from a restaurant. There's nothing unusual about this, but what happens next can only be described as bizarre and tragic, all at once. Hours after having the leftover meal, the person had to have both of his legs and fingers amputated.
The student, identified only as JC in the New England Journal of Medicine, had developed life-threatening sepsis and gangrene caused by bacteria in the food. As per the report, he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.
"The patient had been well until 20 hours before this admission when diffuse abdominal pain and nausea developed after he ate rice, chicken, and lo mein leftovers from a restaurant meal,” the journal stated.
As per the New York Post, the person was a part-time worker at the restaurant. After eating the leftovers from the unnamed Chinese outlet, he immediately started throwing up. This was followed by chills, shortness of breath, headache, blurry vision, and chest pain. A friend of the patient said that his skin had started to turn “purple”.
After a series of blood and urine tests, it was revealed that the patient was suffering from a bacterial infection called Neisseria meningitidis. He was also diagnosed with sepsis which was triggered by the infection and also caused him to develop gangrene. Following this, the 19-year-old had to have all of his fingers and both legs amputated.
Though the incident occurred in March 2021, the case went viral on social media after it was shared by YouTuber Chubbyemu last week. The video has received more than one million views.
While it is unclear how the teenager stored the food he had consumed, as per WebMD, bacteria can grow quickly at room temperature and it is important to store all leftovers in a fridge or freezer.
