Manhattan teen sets new personal records in first swim meet since recovering from rare illness
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Manhattan teen Sam Staedtler impressed a lot of people over weekend at Capitol Federal Natatorium.
In his first swim meet since recovering from Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, he even impressed himself.
In the pool is where Sam Staedtler loves to be.
“I just really like to compete a lot,” said Sam.
At swim meet in Topeka this weekend, Sam set personal records in all seven events he competed in.
“It was great,” said Sam. “I really loved it. It was also really nerve-wracking at first because I didn’t know how good I was going to do.”
Back in October, Sam was hospitalized for a serious illness called Stevens- Johnson Syndrome. It’s a rare disorder that affects the skin and mucous membranes.
“Stevens-Johnson syndrome is horribly painful and I think any doctor would tell you that the pain levels are pretty intense,” said Sam’s mom Carly Tyler.
It caused blistering inside Sam’s mouth and even caused vision problems.
“He was really really scared,” said Sam’s dad Shane. “I think for us as parents, or at least for me, it was difficult to see him in that position because I wanted to do anything I can to take away from his pain, kind of just being helpless, putting our faith in the doctors and the nurses.”
After 11 days in the hospital, Sam’s treatment was successful.
While he still experiences some effects of Stevens- Johnson Syndrome, he’s healthy, happy and back to doing what he loves.
“To see him swim in the pool, yes his times were great but what’s even better is his smile and that he’s getting back to the kid that he used to be and that’s amazing,” said Shane.
Sam said after seeing what he was able to accomplish with just having three practices before this swim meet, he’s excited to see what he can achieve when he gets back to practicing just about every day of the week.