A Georgia toddler is fighting for his life after being attacked by a swarm of yellow jackets. Beckham Reed and his cousins were playing on a ride-on toy side-by-side when they accidentally ran into a yellow jacket nest. The insects immediately swarmed the 2-year-old boy, stinging him more than 150 times. His parents rushed Beckham to the hospital, where he was treated for the stings and released. But once the family got him home, the situation changed.
According to a GoFundMe Beckham’s aunt, Tiffany Hewatt, started he was initially treated with morphine and Benadryl in the emergency room and then released. The following day, his parents noticed his skin turning yellow, so they rushed him to a different hospital for treatment. Beckham, who was born with one kidney, was experiencing multiple organ failure.
“Memorial Savannah also acted quickly, they started him on dialysis, ventilator support and life-saving IV medications to allow his body to rest and filter out the toxins. 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,” Hewatt wrote. “His body is responding to the support and we continue to pray that his labs and organs improve.”
Hewatt explained that Beckham had an atypical reaction to the stings. Because there is no antivenom for yellow jacket stings, doctors are working on supporting Beckham’s body as it works to expel the toxins.
In a GoFundMe update, Hewatt explained that Beckham continues to improve, but he’s not out of the woods yet. Doctors hope to extubate him and will only know if his kidney is properly functioning after they halt the continuous dialysis. Hewatt asked for prayers for Beckham and his entire family.
“We still have faith in God and know that it is his timing and not ours. We are so ready for him to be off the vent and to hear his voice again. He has been tolerating his tube feeds and his bowels are working,” she shared. “They are lowering his oxygen on the vent to see how he tolerates. We are praying he can come off the vent soon. We still are unsure if the dialysis will be temporary or not. Please continue the prayers. We know they are working. Thank you all for your support for Beckham.”
