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Seffner Teenager Has An Appointment With 'The Doctors'

Photo from CBS

Ben Welch and his dad, Harold, discuss the 13-year-old's battle with MRSA on 'The Doctors.'

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By WALT BELCHER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 8, 2008

Ben Welch knows that he came close to death.

And every time the 13-year-old Seffner boy runs a fever or gets a scratch, his family recalls the nearly two-year ordeal that cut short his soccer career and almost cut short his life.

"I remember every minute of it, and now I do everything I can to prevent infections; hand sanitizers are never far away," says Ben, who will be featured on "The Doctors" at 3 p.m. Thursday on WFLA, Channel 8.

The topic is MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), aka the "superbug staph infection."

"It used to be pretty rare, but now it's becoming more common," says Jim Sears, a pediatrician on "The Doctors."

"Ben has an amazing story to tell that shows how insidious these super staph infections can be," he adds. "These strains have developed resistance to antibiotics, and what can start out looking like a small insect bite can invade other parts of the body and do some serious damage.

"A lot of people carry MRSA in their noses, and it's easily controlled by washing and antiseptic cleansing," Sears says. "It usually gets in through a break in the skin."

Ben was 9 and considered one of the top players in the Brandon Area Youth Soccer League when it all started, recalls his father, dentist Harold Welch, who also appears on the program.

In April 2005, after scoring a winning goal at a soccer match, Ben started feeling a sharp pain in his left leg.

"Later that night, he was running a 105 fever and complaining about the pain," says his mother, Betsie.

A blood test discovered Ben's white cell count was eight times higher than normal, and the slightest touch would cause Ben severe pain. Doctors discovered MRSA in a femur bone. A four-hour operation followed and revealed that 20 percent of the bone was eaten away. The infection had invaded his leg muscles.

At this point, there were serious concerns about Ben's chances for survival, says Harold Welch. And if he did survive, would he be able to walk?

Betsie Welch says that the family priest had visited on the day of the surgery and blessed Ben's leg. Friends and relatives also started a prayer chain that spread through the state.

"There were literally thousands of people praying for Ben," his father says.

The Welch family thinks Ben's recovery was a miracle. The MRSA did spread to the tibia in his right leg but that only required minor surgery, his father says.

There were four more operations, including bone grafts, 15 months in a wheelchair and months of physical therapy.

"He pushed himself to get back on his feet," his father says. Today, Ben has lost some speed and agility.

Ben says he still gets the normal aches and pains, and although his dream of being a professional soccer player has been sidetracked, he has switched his passion to baseball.

He also was thrilled to tell his story on "The Doctors." The whole family, including sisters, Katie, 18, and Courtney, 15, made the trek to Hollywood last month for the taping.

Ben is the second child from the Tampa Bay area to be featured this week. On Tuesday, "The Doctors" profiled Asher Edelson, 14, a South Tampa teen who has Tourette's syndrome.

He and his mother, Elizabeth, discussed the effects of living with a neurological disorder that causes involuntary movements. Asher copes by focusing on writing. Since age 10, he has authored three books.

For information, go to www.thedoctorstv.com. See photos at Walt TV on TBOextra. com.

TUNE IN TONIGHT

Dirty Sexy Money, 10 p.m., ABC

This stylish soap about a messed-up super-rich family recently started a second season with a fire, a murder and the usual dirt, sex and money issues. Tonight, musician Kenny G guest stars as himself.

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