Maple Valley boy hit with near deadly infection: How to protect your family

SEATTLE -- From a sore knee to near death, the end of the school year has been a nightmare for a Maple Valley boy and his mom.

Angela Ogden's 12-year-old son, Nick, has been in the hospital since Memorial Day battling an infection she says came out of nowhere.

"If I hadn't taken him to the hospital, he would have gone into septic shock over night in his bedroom and I would have woken up to no child the next morning," said Ogden.

Right now, Nick is undergoing a blood transfusion at Swedish Hospital after several surgeries to remove bacteria from his leg. Initially, everyone thought Nick simply hurt his knee.

"He complained because his knee hurt," said Ogden. "We thought he sprained it or fell down or something."

But then he developed a fever. No one is sure how bacteria got in his body, but it made its way to his blood stream and ended up in his knee, where a staph infection developed.



Soon, a normally active child was in septic shock, in critical condition, on a ventilator, and near death.

"When a chaplain comes in and talks to you, and says it doesn't hurt to prepare for the worst, it's a scary, scary thought."

Nick is doing better now, but is still in the hospital, fighting the infection that is now inside his bone.

More surgeries are planned. It has thrown a family planning for summer vacation into emotional and financial turmoil. Ogden has lost work and money caring for her son and the ongoing travel from Maple Valley to Seattle.

A Gofundme.com account has been set up to help the family. Click here for the link.

As for prevention of staph infection, doctors say some commonsense advice goes a long way to prevent infections, including  encouraging kids to wash their hands often.

Doctors say you should also keep wounds and cuts clean, and don't let kids share towels or clothes.

As for recognizing the signs of staph infection, watch if your child has red, irritated skin. If they have soreness and pain in their joints, and are running a fever, go to a doctor immediately.