A Lil Positivity: How Facebook Saved A Four-Year-Old Boy From A Rare, Fatal Disease

This is scary and heart-warming all at the same time.

One mother nearly lost her son due to a rare illness called Kawasaki disease. Deborah Copaken was taking pictures of her son, who was getting sicker and sicker, on Facebook with status updates on his condition. She’s originally thought that it was Strep Throat and got him treatment for it. But his condition was still getting worse.

As she posted more pictures, her friends started commenting on the photos and warning her that her son’s disease might be more serious than simple Strep or Scarlet Fever. Some friends even called her, urging her to rush to the hospital.

It turned out that her son had the rare, very dangerous Kawasaki disease, a sometimes fatal auto-immune disorder that attacks the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. Her son, Leo, was able to survive thanks to the warnings from his mom’s friends. But it took him months to recover and he’ll need echocardiograms every year for the rest of his life.

Thank goodness for good samaritans on Facebook that Leo was able to survive at all!