Until the fateful day, athlete Marek had no health problems. He liked to spend his free time with his friends on the football field. But then one day he came back from training and went to bed unusually early. The next morning he began his normal household duties. “You were just cleaning your room when suddenly the vacuum cleaner went silent. I thought he was doing well, so I went to check on Mareček. When I came I saw that he was not feeling well,” Mark’s dad described. The boy complained of hip pain and his temperature was measured at 39°C.
Sepsis and organ failure
The next day, diarrhea was added, so it looked like a common intestinal virus. “However, the fever did not subside and I noticed that Mareček’s lips were blue and he was starting to talk out of the blue. At the same time, he complained that he could not feel his fingers,” Dad described, saying they rushed to the emergency room where they waited an hour. The doctor at reception did not even want to accept him and sent them to Uherské Hradiště to the infectious disease department.
Fortunately, the primary care physician intervened when she saw that Mareček’s body was turning blue. In the hospital in Olomouc, they subsequently diagnosed general sepsis and organ failure caused by a streptococcal infection. His fingers and toes turned black and died due to lack of blood. In addition, Mareček had a sore hip again, in which they discovered staphylococcal inflammation for a change.
Necessary amputation
Mark’s condition improved after six weeks, but unfortunately his fingers and toes remained necrotic and he had to undergo amputation. “Mareček lost fingers on both feet and hands, and his right leg was amputated above the ankle. We started commuting to prosthetist Mr. Miklic in Uherské Hradiště, who made his first prosthesis. Thanks to her, Mareček could finally walk again.” added dad. In June, Mareček had to undergo another operation on his left leg so that an epithesis could be fitted on it too, i.e. the replacement of the missing toes.
An unexpected gift
Barbora Janulíková learned about the story of Mareček, who won tickets to the UEFA EURO 2024 final match in Berlin for her purchases at Lidl. As she is not exactly a big football fan, she decided to donate the valuable tickets to football lover Mareček. Her wonderful gesture made the boy very happy and he set off to cheer with his dad.
Doctors at Ostrava General Hospital stitched up the amputated finger of a little boy (6) during an eight-hour operation. FN Ostrava
Marek with his father at the football EURO 2024 final in Berlin
Author: family archive