Kylie Tharp, 17, of Columbus, is shown 22 hours after surgery at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis to treat a rare but life-threatening infection.
Rachel Banuelos of Columbus knew something wasn’t right after her daughter, Kylie Tharp, had surgery to remove wisdom teeth last month.
Mother’s intuition may have saved her child’s life.
“I was expecting to recover within four or five days and get back to my life and everything,” Kylie, 17, said of getting her wisdom teeth pulled. But after dental surgery on July 11, she wasn’t healing as expected — her swelling had gotten worse. She vomiting and running a fever. “I was just super sick,” she said.
Her mother took Kylie to the emergency room at Columbus Regional Health, and doctors who examined her there quickly sent her to Riley Children’s Hospital.
“When they said they were sending her to Riley, I was in complete shock,” said Baneulos.
It turned out Kylie was suffering from a relatively rare bacterial infection called Lemierre syndrome, caused by a bacteria found naturally in the human body. In rare cases, the bacteria can cause severe and sometimes fatal complications.
“For some reason,” Kiley’s mother said, “it decided to attack her body.”
For the next 11 days, Banuelos, herself a home health assistant for Griswold Care Pairing in Columbus, stayed by her daughter’s side at Riley, helpless and trying to make sense of what was happening.
Kylie’s oxygen levels became dangerously low and she was at risk of respiratory failure. Banuelos said that while Kylie could not eat for days, she gained 15 pounds in the hospital due to swelling from infection.
“I think I probably went into survival mode and wasn’t processing anything,” Banuelos said. “I’ve been pretty much a nervous wreck. … It was terrifying.”
Kylie twice entered the pediatric intensive care unit at Riley, and specialists performed two surgeries. She was released to return home about three weeks ago and is expected to make a full recovery, said Dr. Shaina Hecht, a pediatric infectious disease specialist who treated Kylie.
Hecht said she had seen cases of Lemierre’s before — it tends to present in young people about Kylie’s age and may even develop spontaneously, she said — but she had never seen it result from wisdom teeth removal.
“There’s no way to really prevent it, you just have to try to catch it as soon as you can” Hecht said.
Kiley also is undergoing the remainder of a six-week course of antibiotics and treatment for a blood clot resulting from the infection.
Otherwise, Hecht said Kylie should face no long-term complications as a result if the infection.
“I think that’s what’s fun about taking care of kids,” Hecht said. “They’re able to go to school and run around and play as normal even with being very sick very recently.”
For Kylie, a homeschooled junior, that routine includes playing travel volleyball with the Circle City Cougars. She is practicing once again and looking forward to getting back on the court.
“She doesn’t let a ball hit the ground,” her mom boasted.
Banuelos said she’s getting better, too. “The better I see her get, the better I feel,” she said.
Mother and daughter both say the experience has helped them recognize some things.
“The biggest thing I’ve taken from this as a mom is trust your gut instinct,” Banuelos said about realizing when something is not right with your child. Dr. Hecht credited her with promptly seeking medical attention for her daughter.
“She knew that things weren’t quite right with Kiley,” Hecht said.
Kiley recognizes she’s fortunate to have made it through what she calls a near-death experience.
“Being able to get through that, I realized how strong I am,” she said. “It sort of changed my perspective on things. … I see how real everything is.”
