Converse Tennis Shoes in Newark
Quadruple amputee teen focuses on new life
Posted in: Houston Chronicle
04.02.83
Young, long and lithe, carefree in skinny jeans and floppy Converse tennis shoes. Over four days, the 19-year-old Richland College student went from her doctor's office to the ER, a hospital room, the intensive-care unit at Medical City Dallas Hospital and onto life support. Family members said precisely what happened is a bit of a medical mystery, but a ravenous infection, and her body's response to it, shut down blood flow to Whitney's limbs. Amy Wilson, medical director of the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, said what happened to Whitney is rare. "It was unbelievable how fast she went downhill," said Whitney's mom, Patricia Kirven. A spokeswoman for Medical City did not return calls. "We don't know what caused this, whether it can come back or whether my other kids can get it. We're living in the unknown, and that's a scary thing. Whitney Mitchell looks in the mirror, she tries not to concentrate on the reflection. The medical term for the condition is called septic shock. Last November, Whitney got sick.