A teenager from Michigan who was initially diagnosed with a sinus infection passed away, after the infection spread and attacked his brain.
It is rare for sinus infections to travel to the brain, but that is what happened to the 13-year-old student, who succumbed to blood clots that cut off the oxygen supply.
Michigan Teen Dies After Sinus Infection Diagnosis
Marquel Brumley, a 13-year-old straight A student and football player from the Mt. Morris School District in Michigan, passed away on March 11.
The teenager, who visited a clinic last month due to cold symptoms, was diagnosed by doctors to have a sinus infection. According to a relative, Peggy Gilbert, Marquel was told by doctors that he should let the illness "run its course" and sent him home.
However, the headaches that Marquel was experiencing worsened into migraines. His family took him to a local hospital, but again, he was simply sent home, with a prescription for over-the-counter pain medication. The migraines continued and Marquel was taken to a bigger hospital in Ann Arbor, but doctors believed that it was nothing serious.
One day, when Marquel came home, his left eye was almost swollen shut, and the left side of the teen's face was drooping down. He was rushed to the emergency room and underwent an MRI, through which it was discovered that he had a brain infection.
The sinus infection apparently penetrated through the bone and entered the blood vessels in the brain, resulting in blood clots. The blood clots pressed on Marquel's brain, causing immense pressure and cutting off the supply of oxygen, leading to multiple strokes. The teenager received immediate brain surgery, but it was too late — Marquel failed to recover and passed away.
It is rare that a sinus infection spreads to the brain, but there are instances when it happens if the infection takes place in the back center of the head. Unfortunately for Marquel and the Brumley family, the teenager was a victim of the rare form of sinus infection.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover for the medical and funeral costs of Marquel. So far, the campaign has raised almost $8,000.
The Human Brain
The human brain is a very delicate part of the human body, and people hold it sacred. This is probably why a tech startup is drawing controversy, as it is offering people a chance to preserve their brains. The catch, however, is that the people interested in the procedure will have to die first.
The brain, however, still holds many secrets. A recent report narrated the case of a man with a 3-inch pocket of air that replaced part of his brain, while in February, doctors in India were able to remove the largest brain tumor in the world after a seven-hour operation.
