As soon as the doctors spotted the amoeba on a spinal tap, they reached out to a pharmaceutical company called Profounda, which is the sole US distributor of Impavido, a drug that has shown promise in treating PAM.
They then put Deleon in a medically-induced coma to slow the infection and give the medication a chance to work. After about 72 hours in coma, Deleon was able to breathe on his own and spoke within hours of having his breathing tube removed.
Deleon made it to the list of survivors, but the recovery was still a long road ahead.
The first two years were the hardest. Due to swelling in his brain, he had lost most of his motor skills. He went to a rehabilitation center where he learned how to walk, write, and perform basic tasks again. He has since made a full recovery.
