Rare disease leaves local baby fighting for his life

It’s a frightening story, not usually heard of, and it attacks those most vulnerable. Airborne botulism hits babies that are six weeks to one year old. Little Lincoln James Schafer, brand new son of Hays County Sheriff’s Officer Anthony Schafer, contracted it, and no one knows how he got it – not even the Center for Disease Control.

Babies that young have an undeveloped digestive system are unable to handle the airborne spores that are easily fought off by those that are older.

“There’s only 26 confirmed cases of airborne botulism in the past five years,” his grandmother, Jeanne Ybarra said. The CDC is also the only place that has the serum to save anyone, an antitoxin, and it is in Los Angeles. It is called Baby Big.

“He didn’t have any honey (toxic to babies and sometimes the cause of a different type of botulism), only breast milk and supplements. His mother is a pediatric nurse and never gave him honey.”

His mother, Amanda Schafer, of Lockhart, being a pediatric nurse saved his life by recognizing the symptoms and rushed to Dell Children’s Hospital. At first, on Friday, it was thought that it was only acid reflux.

“Saturday morning he was floppy, couldn’t turn his head. He was not lifting his arms or legs. He was rushed to Dell Children where he was given a CAT scan,” Ybarra, said.

According to the website heathychildren.org, the first symptom is constipation, then quickly followed by:

•A-weakened cry

•Loss of facial expression

•A reduced gag reflex

•Slow feeding

•Overall weakness or floppiness

In little Lincoln’s case, paralysis soon followed.

“Parents need to be aware of this in infants, it hits them so darn swiftly. A child could die,” Ybarra said.

It is curable if caught in time, but going through the gruesome disease is a very young baby.

He’s had six spinal taps, weaned off and on and then off of methadone and morphine due to collapse lungs. He has been off and on a respirator. He has tubes galore to get oxygen and food, and he has a tube to extract what build up in his throat, as he can’t cough.

While the family undergoes this tragic time, there are others involved, a seven-year-old brother and Lincoln’s dad Anthony, who tries to fill in everything needed to keep the family together. Mother Amanda had to leave her job in order to be with Lincoln.

There is one sliver of silver lining to this ordeal.

“At eight weeks, he won’t remember it, Ybarra said. “He’s maintaining weight. He’s doing good. He’s been in ICU for three weeks for very intensive care. It’s a very slow process. He’ll be in physical therapy for up to a year. He’ll regain complete muscle control in about a year.”

As of Monday, November 19, he’s doing better.

“He’s still on a feeding tube because he has not been able to swallow yet. Little Lincoln has been wide-eyed and happy. They are doing high flow oxygen sprints for an hour at each time, four times a day and he is doing great. Hopefully he will be on just oxygen next week,” Ybarra said.

The ordeal is trying in more ways then one.

To help Lincoln James and his family for expenses please see their GoFund-Me account at, gofundme.com/f/support-for-lincolns-family.