Tom Patterson and his wife Steffanie Strathdee were on vacation in Egypt on Thanksgiving two years ago when Tom suddenly fell ill.
His symptoms made the couple believe he was suffering from a simple bout of food poisoning. But as his condition got worse, they knew this wasn't just any normal illness.
After being medevaced to Germany, doctors discovered that he had a very bad infection in his gut called Acinetobacter. He was prescribed antibiotics, but no medicine was working. He was brought back stateside and began treatment at UCSD's Thornton Hospital just before Christmas.
But doctors there couldn't do much for him either. He fell into a coma and stayed in that state for four months, slowly dying.
His wife Steffanie didn't give up hope. One day, she held his hand and asked him if he wanted her to continue fighting to find him a cure. She felt him squeeze her hand, and began a crusade to find a treatment that doctors hadn't yet tried.
She learned about bacterial phages, and heard that they could attack bacteria. With a little help, the right phages (found in sewage) were purified to help cure her husband.
Though the cure is in the experimental phase, many doctors are hoping that phages will soon help cure people with infections like Tom's, and therefore prevent death.
Now, Tom is healthy thanks to his wife's persistence and faith!
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