Doctors are saying that a Chula Vista 14-year-old is extremely lucky to be alive after suffering from a rare condition that left him with just hours to live.
Giancarlo Gil was taken to the hospital when a minor sports injury — pain in his calf he thought was a bruise — became a little worrisome. As the swelling of the leg increased and the pain worsened, doctors rushed him to the emergency room where they gave him and his family a grave diagnosis.
The sports-loving teen was suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, a condition where a flesh-eating bacteria kills the body's soft tissue. The bacteria's introduction into the body is life-threatening, and the boy was given just hours to live. He suffered multiple organ failure, amputation of his left leg, and a total of 11 surgeries.
But just months later, Giancarlo is alive and well when doctors were almost positive that he would have died. His mother credits the family's support system and their faith for allowing them to survive the trying time. The whole family is thankful for the doctors' work, supportive friends and family, and donations to their GoFundMe page to help with the hospital expenses.
"It's been a rough two months, needless to say. That's definite," she said. "But definitely we want to thank God, first and foremost. We are family of faith, and we know that our faith is the one thing that has truly sustained us throughout this whole ordeal."
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