Upon his arrival at the Cobb County Hospital Emergency Room, little Josef was displaying various symptoms that were indicative of Septic Shock – a very serious medical condition causing such effects as multiple organ failure and death, and it occurs in response to infection and sepsis. All of the doctors familiar with Josef’s case agreed that there is a high mortality rate with this type of condition.
One of the key elements for the diagnosis of Septic Shock that needed to be found, however, was evidence of infection, determined through a positive blood culture. The medical staff drew numerous amounts of blood for lab tests – blood gases, enzyme levels, and cultures. The blood results were returned inside 60 minutes and the results came back Gram positive for Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus in Josef’s blood, which means there was enough bacteria in his blood to show up immediately under a microscope at the time of the test–they did not even have to wait on a culture to grow. His blood tests also revealed a white blood cell count of 21.5 thou/uL – the normal count is between 3.4 and 9.5. Josef’s white blood cell count was 4 to 5 times higher than the normal levels. Unlike what many were led to believe during the course of the trial, this is an incredibly high count. The white blood cell count is clear evidence that there was a severe infection throughout Josef’s body. Other test results on the same lab work only served to confirm the above conclusion.
Josef’s blood enzyme levels showed that he was in a state of “Metabolic Acidosis“which, coupled with other indicators, were symptoms that pointed to his body entering the state of septic shock. As mentioned above, this is a state in which the body goes into shock and begins to shut down. The doctors noted Josef’s skin condition – but immediately called it “markings.” All state doctors testified during the trial that Josef’s skin was the “worst they had ever seen” but none – NOT ONE – called in a skin specialist to see Josef.
It is important to note that in recent years, there have been numerous sudden deaths in healthy children and teenagers that began with an infection that entered the bloodstream due to a skin condition that led to an opening in the skin. It was not as prevalent at the time of Josef’s death in 2003 but is now common. We have provided an extensive repository of articles documenting the very same conditions that led to Josef’s tragic death.