Florida boy Jesse Brown dies after injured ankle leads to flesh eating bacteria

An 11-year-old “miracle child” died after a seemingly benign twisted ankle he suffered while running on a treadmill led to a flesh-eating infection.

Jesse Brown’s leg was covered with “splotchy, purply, red, almost like bruises” a few days after he injured his ankle and possibly scratched it while exercising a few weeks ago, his cousin Megan Brown told Fox 35 Wednesday.

He was rushed to the ICU and diagnosed with group A strep infection that later morphed into the flesh-eating bacteria, the news station reported. That shocking development led to the boy’s brain reportedly swelling and killing him.

“They said that because he rolled his ankle, that that’s likely where the infection attacked it, because it was already week,” Megan Brown told the outlet.

Jesse was born after his parents struggled to get pregnant for 10 years, with the family considering him their miracle child, WESH reported.

He competed in BMX and motocross competitions and was described as an “old soul,” according to Brown.

“He was just such an old soul. Like, everybody was like, ‘He’s such a little adult, like, in this little, tiny body, you know?” Brown told WESH.

Dr. Alan Cross, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, told the news station group A strep can cause a “very rapid infection” that can make it a “toxin.”

These types of infections can form in both kids and adults from scrapes to larger wounds, he explained.

“The bottom line here is that first properly clean the wound and then be able to watch it over time,” Cross said.

Jesse had a boot on for the ankle injury, and his family didn’t realize quickly enough the trouble that was surfacing, WESH reported.

“I just kept thinking of Bebe, his mom, because she’s my favorite, and my heart really broke for her,” Brown said.

The boy’s elementary school, where he was in the fifth grade, started a memorial fundraiser.

“While Jesse was a miracle to his parents and family, he was also a true blessing to his Lakemont family,” the Lakemont Elementary School wrote. “Jesse was kind and compassionate, looked out for others, adventurous and truly an amazing friend and classmate.”