Liam Flanagan was just eight years old. He was having fun riding his bike on the family’s driveway on their farm in Pilot Rock, Oregon. But suddenly he fell off his bike, giving himself a nasty cut on his upper thigh. His mother immediately took him to the nearby emergency room, where the doctor closed up the cut with seven stitches and put a bandage on the wound. Next, he gave his mother the necessary instructions on how to care for the wound. Then they went home, thinking that it was nothing serious, that soon his injury would be healed, and that he would be back to riding his bike again.
But a few days later, Liam began to complain of pain in his thigh. His mother didn’t think much of it, and she gave him Tylenol for the pain. But the Tylenol didn’t help, and the ache persisted. To be on the safe side, she decided to take Liam back to the emergency room to have his wound checked. There, the doctors gave her the shocking news that her son had flesh-eating bacteria and that it had travelled from his thigh to his armpit. This was terrible news!
Flesh-Eating Bacteria
Flesh-eating bacteria is a very serious infection and needs to treated as soon as possible, or your chances of survival are not good. About one in four people that get this infection die. So swiftly does this infection spread through the tissues, or flesh surrounding the muscles, that it can kill some people within 12 to 24 hours. It can start as an infection in a minor cut or bruise or after a chickenpox infection. Sometimes there is no obvious cut or bruise at all.
Most often symptoms include redness, swelling and pain at the site of the cut or bruise. Sometimes the pain can be at a distance from the wound and is usually far greater than you would expect from such an injury. The pain can travel quickly up an arm or a leg, or other part of the body, and there may be a fever. Many times, an arm, hand or leg may need to be amputated because of gangrene — the death of tissue in that limb.
Deadly Serious
When Liam was brought to the hospital, doctors did immediate surgery to remove as much of the infected tissue as possible. Then he was airlifted to a larger, more specialized hospital in Portland, Oregon. After undergoing several surgeries in an attempt to remove the flesh-eating bacteria, Liam lost his battle with this terrible disease. It was only eight days after the accident, when his young life was so suddenly cut off.
Flesh-eating bacteria can be very hard to detect, as it moves under the skin, destroying the body from within. The Bible tells us that we all have something living within us that is far deadlier than subtle bacteria. God calls it sin. Sin makes us filthy and unclean in His sight. “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:66But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)). Our hearts are black with sin. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:99The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)). Just as bacteria can kill the body, sin will destroy our souls. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).
Any bacterial infection should be treated immediately. Once we get rid of the infection, we can be free to live. It is the same with sin. In love to us, God has provided a cure for sin, so that we can be free of its deadly grip. The cure for our sinful state is trusting in the Lord Jesus and His shed blood for us on the cross. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:99That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)). This cure is free to all who will receive it. God wants you to come to Him now, while you still can. One day the door of salvation will be closed to you — either through death, or the Lord’s coming for those who have received Him as their Lord and Savior. God says, “Behold, now is the accepted [right] time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). If you are reading this story, you are most likely much older than eight years of age. God has been gracious and patient in giving you that much more time to come to know and trust in Him for your soul’s salvation!
Awareness
Liam’s mother wanted everyone to know what had happened to her son. She wanted to warn everyone about this terrible bacterial disease. She said that she never even heard of this disease before and wanted everyone to be aware of it. It is the same with sharing the “good news” of sins forgiven and salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. God wants everyone to know that there is a cure for sin, so that we can enter into His holy, sinless presence without fear. We want to warn everyone that “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). When we ask Him to forgive us our sins and receive Him into our heart, His cure for sin is forever. His promise is “eternal life” — won’t you come to Him today? Then, you too can have the privilege of sharing the “good news” with someone else!