Arizona mom credits TikTok for helping her recognize severe symptoms in young boy
GILBERT, AZ (AZFamily) — Seven-year-old Nicholas McCollum is full of life. But he was not dancing and jumping last week. Instead, he was dealing with his second bout with rhabdomyolysis. He first dealt with it in February.
“It (fever) was about 103-104 degrees, and that morning he said he couldn’t walk,” mom Jennifer McCullom said.
She took her son to Mercy Gilbert, where he was diagnosed with the flu. They were just about to be discharged when Jennifer remembered some videos she saw on TikTok. She says parents were saying their kids had complications from Influenza B, and to have your child get what’s called a “CK blood test” if they are having severe muscle pain and/or dark urine.
“They were going to send me home and I said I want his CK levels checked. I got looked at like it was so weird to ask for CK levels for a child because this diagnosis is usually only in athletes and cross-fitters,” she said.
According to Dr. Rahul Chawla, an ER doctor at Banner Health, rhabdomyolysis releases toxins into the blood, and if the levels get too high, it can lead to kidney failure.
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