Florida boy flown from Tampa to Chicago as fight against rare brain-eating amoeba continues

TAMPA, Fla. - A 13-year-old Florida boy was flown from Tampa to Chicago to continue his fight against a rare and potentially deadly brain-eating amoeba.

Caleb Ziegelbauer's battle began in early July, when he and his family went to Port Charlotte Beach. 

"Caleb has only been to the beach twice in his life. It was June 10 and July 1," said Jesse Ziegelbauer, Caleb's mother.

In the days following that second trip, Caleb started experiencing headaches, then a fever and then hallucinations. The teenager hasn't left the hospital for more than 50 days.

"He is made of pure grit and determination, and it is exactly that which we are banking on to wake him up," Jesse said. "We just take it day by day and every finger twitch we see makes us excited for work to come and hopeful."

Caleb's story has received national attention and the air ambulance company, ICU Jet, took notice. They offered to fly Caleb to Chicago for free.

"It's miraculous. We heard about the story. We had to step in," said Jared Wayt, an ICU Jet pilot. "He's already beaten the odds, so hopefully we can help further his care in his recovery."

According to experts, the amoeba can usually be found in warm, fresh or brackish water.

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They rarely impact people; there have only been 155 reported cases in the U.S. and just 31 in the past decade. All but four of the 155 cases, however, have been deadly.

"I think you're probably much more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to end up with this sort of an infection," said USF Health's Dr. Thomas Unnasch, who has studied this type of amoeba, called Naglaeria Fowleri.

The amoeba most often enter a person's brain through the nose.

The Ziegelbauers are urging people to wear nose plugs when they swim, especially in fresh water.