BRUNSWICK, Ga. (Gray News) – A 2-year-old from Georgia was rushed to the ICU after a freak accident left him with more than 150 yellowjacket stings.
According to a GoFundMe page, 2-year-old Beckham Reed was riding on an electric toy around his property with his cousins when he hit a yellowjacket nest and was swarmed.
His parents took him to the ER, where it was determined he had over 150 stings.
Yellowjackets, a type of wasp that is often mistaken for a bee because of their markings, are the most common type of insect sting in the United States.
The Cleveland Clinic says for most people, a yellowjacket sting causes pain, swelling and itching. But people who are allergic can develop anaphylactic symptoms like dizziness, hives, vomiting or difficulty breathing and swallowing.
Beckham’s family said he was initially given medication and sent home from the hospital. But when he started turning yellow, his parents rushed him to the hospital again, where doctors discovered he was in multi-organ failure.
Beckham, who was born with only one working kidney, was quickly started on dialysis, ventilator support and life-saving IV medications to “allow his body to rest and filter out the toxins,” the GoFundMe reads. “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.”
As of Tuesday, the family said Beckham is still recovering in the hospital.