Michael Iniguez was about the graduate in high school in Petaluma, California, and on his way to a great college career playing soccer. Waking up one day with a bad sore throat, Michael knew he had never felt worse. However, nothing could have prepared him for how bad it was about to get. His parents Stewart and Sherrill Iniguez were there by his side doing all they could to help him through his ordeal. Here are a list of some of his personal symptoms and a brief version of the path he took to get a final diagnosis.

Some of the symptoms he showed over time:

• One morning at the age of 17, Michael woke up with a horrible sore throat. It was so bad he knew he wasn’t going to school and went to the doctor that day.- the doctor had never seen a throat that bad and thought he had mono. She ran a test to see if he had mono. She gave him a steroid to reduce the swelling and pain medication to fight the pain.
• As he was waiting for the results, he started having new symptoms: high fever, night sweats, chills and his feet felt swollen. They waited for the results which was taking 5 days.- the doctor said the test showed he didn’t have mono.
• When she saw his swollen feet, the doctor was concerned about his kidney function- she ordered a blood test.- the results showed that Michael’s kidneys were failing. She told them to go straight to the hospital and she contacted a kidney specialist.
• On the way to the hospital, he was unable to stay awake. When they checked in they noticed his blood pressure was dangerously low.- the doctor informed the parents that Michael had some sort of infection attacking his body and that he was going into septic shock causing the body to shut down.
• The doctors continued testing him while he fought for his life. The doctors couldn’t find any answers and Michael was getting worse by the hour.
• He had double pneumonia and had fluid in his lungs. He had to be on life support. The infection continues to get worse and his liver was starting to fail.
• On the 5^th day in ICU, another doctor was assigned to Michael’s case, Dr. Thomas Arnold, Pediatric Critical Care Fellow. He noticed something in his labs and ordered a CT scan of Micheal’s neck.
• The CT scan showed that Michael had a blood clot in the jugular vein. This is the vein that drains the head and brain. This along with the other symptoms, Dr. Arnold was able to diagnose Michael.

Final Diagnosis:

• Lemierre’s Disease – a bacterial infection; normally the body’s immune system fights off bacteria in the blood stream. For Michael, the bacteria collects to form a blood clot in the jugular. Pieces of the clot break off and travel to organs via the blood. This causes organ failure. The infection had started in Michael’s throat and worked its way to the jugular. He body tried to wall it off, causing a blood clot.

What is ahead for him:

• Michael was immediately started on the correct antibiotic for this disease. Unsure how fast he can recover.
• Within 24 hours, he was improving and was off the ventilator.
• A week into the recovery, tests showed that the valve of his heart was starting to fall apart. He was no longer able to play competitive athletics.
• 16 days after it all began, he was back in school. He will have a normal life.

After watching these shows I can’t help but always think of how one doctor makes a difference. A fresh new set of eyes, not caught up in the drama usually is the one who thinks most clearly. I am so happy to hear Michael’s disease was caught in time leaving him with a bright future.