Rare Type Of Uncommon Disease Lands Girl In Hospital For Months
Rosie Lopez contracted a case of wound-related botulism after fracturing her wrist. In other news, formerly conjoined twins Eva and Erika Sandoval head home from the hospital.
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Broken Arm Turns Into Super Rare, 77-Day Ordeal In Hospital
She snapped both bones in her wrist on Jan. 3 after slipping on a grassy hillside while attempting an act of minor acrobatics at Escondido’s Jesmond Dene Park. It was a nasty fracture, bad enough to break the skin of her left arm and let in a little dirt when she hit the ground hard. Although no one knew it at the time, the dirt harbored clostridium botulinum spores that, after a few days, started pumping deadly toxins into the 14-year-old’s bloodstream. (Sisson, 3/30)
Sacramento Bee:
No Longer Conjoined, Sandoval Twins Return To Their Antelope Home
After a harrowing separation surgery and a long recovery in two different hospitals, formerly conjoined twins Eva and Erika Sandoval made the journey back to their Antelope home Wednesday afternoon in separate car seats. The 2-year-old sisters, born conjoined from the chest down, were separated Dec. 6 at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. During a 17-hour procedure, a team of 50 medical staff split their shared liver, pelvis and digestive system and removed the third leg they once shared. Each girl now has a full set of organs and one leg of her own. (Caiola, 3/29)
And in other news —
Ventura County Star:
Norovirus Tally Reaches 700 Kids; New Cases Declining
A highly contagious norovirus outbreak believed to have infected ... at least 700 Oxnard-area elementary and middle school students is still wreaking havoc on stomachs and intestines, but its grip appears to be loosening. All eight schools in the Rio School District, the epicenter of an outbreak that emerged about three weeks ago, still have students with norovirus symptoms. But the number of new cases has dropped significantly, said John Puglisi, superintendent of the district that encompasses more than 5,000 students in El Rio and north (Kisken, 3/30)