A 2-year-old boy is fighting for his life in Georgia after being stung over 150 times by yellowjackets.
According to a GoFundMe started by his family, Beckham Reed was swarmed by yellowjackets after accidentally running over a nest while playing in an electric car in his backyard. He was rescued by his father Peyton, who sustained stings of his own, and rushed to an emergency room where he was treated with morphine and Benadryl.
The toddler was initially sent home because at the time he appeared to be breathing normally, according. However, according to the fundraiser, Beckham was later rushed to a different emergency room less than a day later after his skin started to turn yellow.
At Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick, Ga., doctors determined that the toddler — who was born with only one kidney — was falling into multiple organ failure with his heart, liver and kidney shutting down.
Beckham was quickly transferred to Memorial Savannah where he was intubated and put on dialysis while receiving “life-saving IV medications,” his family noted.
“Due to his age and size and the amount of stings he had, his little body was unable to handle the amount of toxins in his body,” his family noted on the GoFundMe, adding that he was “responding to the support.”
The fundraiser noted: “There is no antivenom for yellow jackets so all they can do is support his body while the toxins work their way out.”
On Friday, June 27, the GoFundMe reported that doctors were planning to take Beckham off the ventilator and were preparing his body for the next big step.
