A South Florida teen is recovering after getting an infection from a brain-eating amoeba.

  • Teen infected with brain-eating amoeba
  • Doctors at Florida Hospital were able to diagnose and treat him
  • CDC: Teen 4th person to survive brain-eating amoeba

Doctors at Florida Hospital were able to diagnose and treat Sebastian DeLeon, 16, within hours of him arriving at the hospital.

According to doctors, DeLeon spent the summer working as a camp counselor in South Florida when he was infected. The brain-eating amoeba entered his body through his nose while he was swimming.

On Aug. 7, while on vacation in Orlando, DeLeon had a massive headache that seemed like meningitis. However, a spinal tab concluded it was an amoeba.

"The family, when they came to me, within four hours, I had to tell them to say their goodbyes," said Florida Hospital Pediatric Intensivist Dr. Humberto Liriano.

"I had to tell them, tell him everything you want to tell your child, because I don't know when the time I put him to sleep to the time I take out the tube, (if) he will wake up," Dr. Liriano added.

Doctors had to put DeLeon in a coma for three days and cool his body to 33 degrees to help with his recovery.

DeLeon needed a special anti-parasitic drug called Impavido.  It only took 12 minutes for the lifesaving medication to arrive at Florida Hospital.

"We woke him up and we decided to take the breathing tube out and within hours, he spoke," Dr. Liriano said.

"Now he's currently walking, talking, it's a miracle," Dr. Liriano said.

In the past 50 years, only four people out of 138 cases have survived a brain-eating amoeba, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors said immediate access to the drug helped save Sebastian's life.

“We’re so thankful that God has given us the miracle of the medical team and this hospital for having our son back,” said Brunilda Gonzalez, DeLeon’s mother.

"Having him full of life, he's a very energetic, adventurous, wonderful teen and we are so thankful for the gift of life," Gonzalez said.


Doctors say fast-acess to the drug Impavido helped save Sebastian DeLeon's life. (John W. Davis, Staff)