What Was In The Food? Lessons To Learn From A 19-Year-Old Who Lost His Limbs To A Chinese Meal

Is Chinese food meant for Chinese only?

He probably wanted to try it for the first time, or simply wanted another meal from the Chinese restaurant but either way this resulted in the amputation of his two legs and all ten fingers. What was wrong with the food? the restaurant has been around for a number of years and he was not the only customer of that day.

The 19-Year-Old student was moved into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after doctors discovered he was suffering from multiple organ failure. The doctors were utterly shocked at how his condition moved from fair to worse.

What Really Happened

The meal consisting of chicken, rice, and lo mein was purchased from a Chinese restaurant the night before the incident. JC was not the first to eat a part of the leftover the following morning, his roommate ate before him, he felt some pain in his abdomen that only lasted for a few hours. It was an entirely different case for JC. A few minutes after eating his part he began throwing up, showed signs of body fatigue, headache, bad vision, chest pain, and difficulty in breathing. He was rushed to the emergency room when his skin started turning purple.

The initial test showed he had a temperature of about 100 Fahrenheit (fever), and also a heart rate of 165 per minute. Over the next few hours his breathing became labored, he developed blue skin (cyanosis) which was a sign of a terrible circulation of oxygenated blood. JC’s condition refused to improve even after receiving fluid and oxygen, his blood pressure dropped to 70 mm Hg along with a weak pulse. With that, he was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital.

At the general hospital JC was diagnosed with sepsis, this is a condition caused by a chemical activated to fight an infection but triggers inflation all through the body. This is caused by a disease called meningococcal from a bacteria that can be contacted through particles that come out while sneezing and coughing, it’s also transmitted through saliva.

This disease caused his liver to fail and clot his blood, the tissue in his body started dying due to lack of adequate flow of blood.

In the end

JC had his two legs amputated along with his ten fingers, in his word, he takes two packs of cigarettes and marijuana every day. This also accounts for the reason he felt more terror compared with his friend. JC received three doses of meningococcal vaccine and antibiotics before he could recover. With this, I feel there is a need to dig out facts about leftovers.

Words of advise

It’s clear that what happened to JC was a result of bacteria and not because Chinese foods are poisonous. it’s highly advisable to finish off food but in a situation where you can’t help it then you should utilize the function of a refrigerator. This will inhibit the rapid growth of bacteria since the temperature is too low for their survival.

You can eat leftovers as long as they don’t smell, this is untrue because it’s impossible to taste, smell or see bacteria. You should dispose off leftovers that have spent more than two days in the refrigerator. Even though you can preserve them in a freezer for up to six months, they will lose taste, flavor, and texture with time.