He Lost His Lips

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Today I took a look at three medical stories that really blew my mind. The first was a man suffering from a hyper rare case of toxic shock syndrome which resulted in him losing a lot of his body. His recovery was truly inspiring. The next was a man who sustained a near-fatal motorcycle accident that caused him to lose his voice. Doctors invented a procedure that allowed him to receive a vocal box transplant. Today he can speak just like you or me. The final story is about a 40 year old man who appears to occupy the body of a small child. The medical investigation into what caused this unusual condition was very interesting to me. Please let me know down below if there are other incredible medical stories worth exploring!

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Executive Producer: Doctor Mike
Production Director and Editor: Dan Owens
Managing Editor and Producer: Sam Bowers
Editor and Designer: Caroline Weigum
Editor: Juan Carlos Zuniga

* Select photos/videos provided by Getty Images *

** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **

[wintergarden]

That modest doctor who successfully gave the man his voice back....I wish more people were humble like that.

[MartinFinnerup]

Screw that. The first case was NOT an accident.
That was 100% attempted murder. Whoever did that, did so with malice well knowing what could happen.
Amazing transplant surgery though! Congratulations to him regaining his voice.

[KaneSoulbreaker]

That last case was so heartwarming. It goes to show that no matter what happens to someone's physical body, true love sees only the person for who they are on the inside.

[lucialma]

I had a friend in college who had survived Strep A toxic shock. He had lost both hands at the wrist and both legs just below the knee. And he could still type and run faster than me

[relfyem]

That first case was so wholesome. I loved seeing the radiant smile on Tim's face when he used his new voice and the humility of Dr Strome. The last case is just super humbling altogether, what an exceptional guy.

[racheljohnson]

The first story, so glad my son did not suffer the same thing. Out of all people our development builders did this. My then 10 year old son went off on his bike and hit it. Since he is a child he got hit higher then an adult. He struggled to swallow for weeks. Our neighborhood to this day is petitioning our city to not give this builder any more contracts. I loved watching the transplant though. Great story

[Beth-pfoo]

Alex Lewis is my hero. I remember seeing that doc on him years ago and being stunned at how an infection could ravage the human body. But he is unstoppable, he will probably accomplish more this year than I will in my whole life lol He is a motivational speaker, he raises money to get prosthetics to children in the UK, and tons of other stuff. One of the most inspiring people I've ever learned about. I would love to meet him.

[joshuabaughn]

In answer to your question Dr. Mike, usually they're tired of bikers near their property. It's actually illegal to set booby traps on your property with the intention of causing serious harm or mortal injury to anyone or anything.

[ginafromkryta]

I find it hilarious how Doctor Mike always explains everything before the programmes do :D just funny ... but also quite impressive

[admiral]

The guy in the first story hits a bit close to home for me. My father was riding a moped down a street the day after a thunderstorm. He didn't see that a telephone wire was hanging in the middle of the road. It caught him around the neck while he was going around 25-30 miles an hour. Luckily, he somehow was not decapitated, he didn't permanently lose his voice, and he was wearing a helmet, but had just a few things been different, he could have been paralyzed or killed.

As an extra twist, my father is legally blind, but at the time had a valid driver's license (with glasses/lens restrictions), and he used something called a "bioptic" which was essentially half of a pair of binoculars attached to a pair of glasses so he could see further down the road. Despite that, he was actually the one who taught me how to drive, and I was one of the better students in my driver's education class because of it.

[elizabethfrank-backman]

I appreciated you pointing out the team work involved in helping this man have a voice again.

[RDRF_SB]

Alex is a fn champ. What an incredible family too.

I work in rehabilitation with people who have amputations, strokes, among plenty of other things. The strength it takes for a person to confront and work through the challanges they face is beyond comprehension.

Seeing his determination and progress is just inspirational. It brings tears to my eyes.

Respect to physios, occupational therapists, and the assistants!

[gillneb]

That same assault happened to my dad like 40 years ago. The cord/wire caught him right by the neck and threw him and the bike back. He woke up with the bike completely totaled, covered in blood, and completely out of it. Physically, he healed fine, but he did get a nasty concussion.

[Nilboggen]

I had a staph infection once it was really hard to get it diagnosed correctly. My first two trips to two separate doctors (I didnt have health insurance at the time so think like urgent/prompt care) and it was diagnosed as a spider bite. And here I am trying to explain to the doctor that I cut my self on aluminum siding in that exact spot and that it seemed highly unlikely that a spider also bit me in the same spot... I also had told both of the first two doctors that I was fairly certain it was a staph infection. The 2nd doctor pointed me to a poster on his wall that said something to the effect of "I didn't get my medical degree from a google search trust your doctor" Thankfully after my third expensive trip to a third doctor and the fact that my veins had started to turn black radiating out from the cut I was proscribed an antibiotic and given an intravenous antibiotic and finally treated for the staph infection. Also I am in USA so you would think a staph infection would be pretty easy to diagnose and treat. It does seem like things work out a lot better when you have a primary care physician who is more familiar with you specifically.

[elizabethroberts]

As someone who lives with significantly limiting physical disability and crippling pain, I really, really appreciate how Doctor Mike consistently makes a point of emphasizing the value and importance of the support system available to patients going through serious physical or mental medical problems. Yes, it can be encouraging to see stories of patients overcoming huge difficulties to rebuild a life. I'm glad those are shown on this channel in these kinds of videos. But they are almost NEVER doing that by themselves: emotionally, financially, physically, they can improve that much BECAUSE they have strong support systems. And that is just as important, if not more so, than the fact that they are able to make that progress in the first place.

Too many people look at stories like this, and then use it as an excuse to judge others: people like me, who have 'invisible illnesses' and look physically 'normal, ' or others who on the surface appear to have less 'wrong' with us. Quite aside from how useless appearance alone is to assess the severity of medical problems, you CANNOT KNOW how much help anyone does or does not have (or need). The fact that someone who lost most of several limbs can become independent, with years of EXTENSIVE financial and physical and emotional support, says NOTHING about what anyone else "should" be able to do when they do not have as well-paved a path to recovery.

The best way you can help ANYONE, regardless of what we/they may or may not be going through, is to listen to us. We do not assume we know what your life is like. Please do us the courtesy of returning the favor. <3

[havanafayre]

My dad died of AIDS when I was 9. But because of the stigma back then, they told me he died of valley fever. Seeing how frail and thin he got from a "supposed" fungal infection, terrified me. I was a massive hypochondriac through my late 20s. I'm 43 now and still have some lingering hypochondria. Usually when I'm really sick, I think the worst. I'm of the opinion that had they been honest with me, and as new information became available about it's transmission, I could have avoided thinking that the most benign things were going to kill me. It's definitely vital to be honest with your children, talk to them in terms they can understand, and check in with them often. And don't invalidate their concerns/fears by telling them that they are overreacting.

[carolinebonello]

As someone with a rare genetic disorder, i highly appreciate Dr Mike highlighting the importance of genetic testing when a diagnosis is needed and a genetic disease is suspected. There needs to be more awareness and acknowledgement, and Dr Mike just did that 👏

[Varenliels]

My Father died of Toxic Shock Syndrome so I resonate on a high level with this patient
Edit: It was Strep A Toxic Shock

[jaspercandoit]

A major part of the final story, Alex, is that the NHS paid for all of his care. He didn't have to bankrupt himself and his family to get care. So yeah, he had to finance the specialist bike but otherwise, our health care system looked after him.

[Hannah-lpdc]

That first one fills me with so much rage. When I was 12 (about 10 years ago), a young 15 year old boy I knew rode his dirt bike through the woods and struck a cord like that where the plastic covering had fell off. It crushed his throat and he barely made it home to his parents. He passed in surgery. His was an accident, but whoever did that fully meant to kill that man. Knowing someone did that willingly?? A vile act and a vile human.