Young dad fights for his life after flu leads to toxic shock
A young father has been left fighting for his life after contracting the flu and breaking out in a horrific rash.
Josh Neuendorf, from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, was struck down with influenza A and while taking a course of antibiotics, was rushed to hospital with an extremely high temperature on July 29.
He was discharged a day later but by the Monday, the father-of-three had a rash covering his entire stomach, chest and back and was struggling to breathe.
"They did some tests and kept him overnight where he then crashed and was rushed to ICU, and then put into an induced coma, on a breathing machine," family friend Sheryl Nagel said.
Doctors found an abscess in the 28-year-old's neck, fluid in his lungs and discovered he had contracted a bacterial streptococcal infection.
Mr Neuendorf was then airlifted to Brisbane for surgery, but Ms Nagel said he suffered toxic shock syndrome while surgeons tried to remove the abscess.
"Josh also suffered a punctured lung during his surgery, his heart was extremly weakened and not functioning properly, and he also had a substantial amount of fluid around his brain," she said.
The young father was taken out of the coma, but now must learn to walk, read and write again.
"Josh however has lasting effects on his heart, and will be on heart medication for an unknown amount of time and this may affect his job and future," Ms Nagel wrote.
The family friend has since launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for the father's medical costs.
