A man was declared brain dead and given a four per cent chance of survival after developing blood poisoning from an ingrown hair. Steven Spinale, 36, attempted to remove the ingrown hair from his groin area, which led to a diagnosis of sepsis.

Steven was intubated and placed in a medically induced coma, with his family told he might be brain-dead. However, he was able to emerge from the coma and is now on the road to recovery.

The dad’s fight for his life was documented in GoFundMe and TikTok videos shared by his sister Michelle. He was placed in a medically-induced coma and underwent open heart surgery.

Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that occurs when the immune system overreacts, damaging the body’s tissues and organs. Steven developed the condition after trying to remove an ingrown hair in his leg, which became infected.

According to Michelle, Steven was pretty sick a month before being admitted to the hospital. He was turned away at numerous hospitals, and despite vomiting blood, he was sent home. Eventually, he had to be admitted when he couldn’t breathe.

Once admitted, doctors were initially unable to figure out what was causing his symptoms. They discovered he was bleeding internally from somewhere, which turned out to be the smallest worry.