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Medicine: From a mother’s point of view

The emergency room pediatrician said the teen's treatment was "textbook."

His mother says it saved her son's life.

When Jennifer Cornely brought her son Jake into the Child and Adolescent Rapid Evaluation Service (CARES) at Virtua Voorhees Hospital, she knew he was very sick. But, in a matter of moments, she felt like she was in a scene from the TV show "ER." "They took Jake into a room and sealed it off with plastic and tape," recalls Cornely. "The emergency team started IVs, took blood and hooked him up to monitors. A few minutes later, the doctor came out and asked if he could speak with us… and, my blood ran cold," she remembers. Jack Percelay, MD, director of inpatient pediatrics at Virtua Voorhees, told the family that Jake had meningococcemia, a potentially life-threatening blood infection caused by the same bacteria that causes bacterial meningitis. What a difference a day makes
Just two days before, 17-year-old Jake was in a wrestling match for Eastern High School. The next day, he came home early from school with flu-like symptoms and a fever. He went to bed achy, but woke around 3:30 am feeling very uncomfortable. His knee was sore, and he noticed a large, purplish bruise on it. By morning, he could barely move and purple spots were also appearing on his arms. Cornely had already made an appointment for Jake to see his family physician first thing in the morning. By the time they arrived at the office, his condition had worsened, and he needed help just to get inside. His doctor immediately called CARES, the 24/7 pediatric emergency center at Virtua Voorhees, and sent Jake and his family right over.

Deteriorating quickly
"When Jake arrived, he was already in shock and his condition was deteriorating quickly," states Dr. Percelay. "Jake's symptoms — fever and severe body aches — are common to many illnesses, but he also had a purple, spotty rash that is common to this particular infection." The combination of all of these symptoms led the emergency team to begin immediate treatment for meningococcemia. This included large doses of intravenous (IV) fluids and antibiotics.

When Jake was stabilized, he was flown via helicopter to Virtua's affiliate, the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, where he was cared for in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This same level of complex care for very sick kids will be available this winter when Virtua Voorhees opens its PICU.

Jake Cornely gets back to sports

On the road to recovery
After two days, Jake returned to Virtua Voorhees to continue his recovery; he was discharged just one week after becoming ill. By then, he was already looking forward to getting back to school and sports.

It may have been this positive attitude coupled with his elite physical condition that helped him beat the infection. "Even with the right treatment, meningococcemia is fatal in about 40% of cases," states Dr. Percelay. "We treated Jake's condition exactly as we should have, and Jake's body responded in all the right ways." A blessing for which his family is very grateful.