{"id":534642,"date":"2026-03-20T11:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/534642\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T11:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T11:27:12","slug":"devastated-family-reveals-how-the-flu-and-strep-cost-teen-three-of-her-limbs-never-in-a-million-years-did-we-expect-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/534642\/","title":{"rendered":"Devastated family reveals how the flu and strep cost teen three of her limbs: \u2018Never in a million years did we expect this\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The family of a Texas teenager who had three of her limbs amputated after catching the flu<\/a> have shared her story in the hopes of raising awareness of the potential dangers of the illness \u2013 which can be far more severe than people may think.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It\u2019s] devastating. Never in a million years did I think the flu B would lead to something like this,\u201d said Amanda Valdez, the mother of 13-year-old Kaydin Ruiz.<\/p>\n

Kaydin first started showing flu-like symptoms in January, including fevers, a cough and fatigue<\/a>, according to her family. Eventually she was taken to the emergency room but was sent home to rest and hydrate.<\/p>\n

But her condition rapidly deteriorated. \u201cShe went into respiratory distress, started turning blue,\u201d Valdez said, speaking to WTSP.<\/a> \u201cShe had strep, pneumonia and septic shock and multi-organ failure.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaydin was rushed via airlift to a hospital in San Antonio, where she was diagnosed with a severe strep infection as well as the flu. She was put on a ventilator but her heart stopped beating momentarily, her mother said.<\/p>\n

\u201cInfluenza is a very dangerous virus \u2014 far more severe than many people realize,\u201d Dr Howard Pryor, of Texas Children\u2019s Hospital, where Kaydin is now being treated, told WTSP. \u201cStrep is also a dangerous bacteria that requires close attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The family of Texas teenager Kaydin Ruiz, who had three of her limbs amputated after catching the flu, have shared her story in the hopes of raising awareness to the potentially serious dangers of the illness (GoFundMe\/ Amanda Valdez)<\/p>\n

Pryor added that toxins released by the bacteria can sometimes \u201cactivate clotting in different parts of the body,\u201d which can lead to loss of limb function and organ failure.<\/p>\n

Doctors ultimately made the decision to amputate both of Kaydin\u2019s legs and one of her arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s devastating. How do you tell your child that their whole world has changed?\u201d Valdez said. \u201cNow she\u2019s covered in scars. Her whole life has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever in a million years did we expect this from the flu,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Valdez says she is sharing her daughter\u2019s story to raise awareness of the severe risk of seemingly mild illnesses and the potentially devastating outcomes. Doctors say the best way to reduce risk of illness is vaccination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t want parents to miss the opportunity,\u201d Pryor said. \u201cWhen flu vaccines are available, that\u2019s the best way to protect your child from part of this risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

A GoFundMe page<\/a> set up to help Kaydin\u2019s family with medical costs has raised almost $25,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur gorgeous baby girl is a fighter and she is doing better every day. Words cannot describe the feelings my family is feeling but we are strong and so is Kaydin,\u201d the page\u2019s description reads. \u201cKaydin is such a loving, kind, strong, beautiful sweet girl. She\u2019s a daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, and a friend to many.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the page Kaydin loves anime, plays the French horn and her favorite food is ramen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The family of a Texas teenager who had three of her limbs amputated after catching the flu have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[240018,3006,156945,97,240019,240022,240021,117911,240020],"class_list":["post-534642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-amanda-valdez","tag-family","tag-flu-vaccines","tag-health","tag-kaydin-ruiz","tag-raising-awareness","tag-strep-infection","tag-texas-childrens-hospital","tag-texas-teenager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}