One of the tallest MBA’s ever, Bol was on a charity mission to Sudan when he spiraled into a series of unusual medical conditions, resulting in a severe reaction called Johnson-Stevens syndrome. He was unable to drink or eat for 11 days due to the blisters from the syndrome.
Bol died on June 19, one month after his declining health forced him to come back home from Africa. He was 47 years old.
Sudan Sunrise, which collaborated with Bol to construct educational institutions in southern Sudan, expressed that Rev. Prichard, the executive director, “ultimately sacrificed his life for the betterment of his nation.”
Remembered Prichard, “Just four days prior to his passing, he expressed, ‘I desire to return to Sudan in October.'” Bol, persistently organized promotional trips to Sudan even while on his deathbed.
Bol played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association, leading the league in blocks with the Golden State Warriors in 1985-86 and 1988-89. He stood tall at 7 feet 7 inches.
Prichard said that Bol was visiting southern Sudan on his last trip to Africa to deliver a message requesting anti-corruption assistance to help the president.
However, Bol had already arrived in Sudan with a preexisting kidney infection.
Prichard stated, “he was parted (from) his medication” and he left one bag behind due to limited space when he got on the U.N. Aircraft, and he was consuming an antibiotic, Manute was resolute to return to southern Sudan.
Prichard stated that Syndrome Stevens-Johnson, a condition that ultimately led to an infection in his kidney, resulted in him being sent to a hospital in Nairobi where he received medication. Unfortunately, his infection worsened in Bol’s.
Stevens-Johnson syndrome manifests as blisters on the skin as well as on the eyes, lips, mouth, and other mucous membranes within the body. This condition occurs due to an immune system response.
According to Prichard, Bol’s blisters were extremely severe, leading to a sore mouth and swollen tongue, which made it impossible for him to consume food or beverages.
“I believe that his kidney failure was caused by dehydration,” he stated.
According to Dr. Joseph Jorizzo, a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, individuals suffering from severe blisters caused by Stevens-Johnson Syndrome frequently require admission to the intensive care unit and specialized burn facilities.
Jorrizo, the founding chair of dermatology at University Forest Wake in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, stated that although it may not feel like a significant burn, even a small burn could make a patient feel uncomfortable.
According to Jorrizo, patients with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome require the assistance of experts to prevent toxic and life-threatening infections while undergoing treatment for severe burns, which often results in significant skin loss.
Dr. Elaine Josephson, a member and national representative for the American College of Emergency Physicians, explained that the lesions associated with Steven-Johnson Syndrome differ from cold sores or typical burns. As an emergency room doctor, she is able to promptly identify them.
“It’s slightly itchy, pink red patches symmetrically arranged. It’s red and it has a light center on the outside,” stated Josephson.
However Josephson said the syndrome is rare enough that many people arrive at the emergency room only after other treatments have failed.
Josephson stated, “Medications and infections are the main known causes, but we don’t really know what it causes. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is a life-threatening condition that affects the skin, specifically the epidermis which separates from the dermis.”
Doctors do not have a cure for Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. When it begins, stopping the responsible medication may offer help, though it is not guaranteed.
Dr. James Adams, a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, expressed, “and occasionally their skin peels away. Occasionally it deteriorates slightly, but it does not pose a risk to their life. Each person has unique experiences.”
Adams suggests that individuals who have blisters that resemble the indications of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome should promptly consult a physician.
“Expressed Adams, a professor and the head of the emergency medicine department at Northwestern University in Chicago, ‘That is perilous,’ therefore within the inner surface of the eyelid, particularly when the skin irritation encompasses the oral cavity or the area surrounding the eye, individuals will initially observe the manifestation of a skin irritation.”
He stated, “individuals who are in need of medical attention must promptly proceed to the doctor or emergency room – indications of danger include rashes that affect the mucous membranes or cause blistering.”
Manute Bol Was Struggling for Weeks
Since his arrival back in the United States on May 12, Bol has been unable to regain his health and return home to Kansas. However, Prichard is unaware of the exact cause of Bol’s death.
Prichard stated, “His physical condition was deteriorating, it was simply that he lacked the familiarity of shedding his skin, but it was uncomfortable and agonizing, the outer layer.”
Prichard said that he was only able to gaze at his wife as she held their newborn daughter at the hospital bed, because he was suffering from infections. Prichard mentioned that he had to leave his newborn daughter, who was born during his trip to Africa, behind.
Bol’s vision of constructing 41 schools remains incomplete, with the second structure of the initial school still lacking a roof, and Sudan Sunrise also being unfinished.
Prichard said, “During the rainy season, which lasted for five months, they couldn’t have sessions in school. That’s why they used to have school under the shade of the tree. They didn’t have classrooms – this was before Manute got involved with the school.”
Prichard said that he wanted to study together various tribes, Christians, and Muslims in a school, despite the decades-long tribal and religious fighting which killed many relatives of Bol’s.
“He was in excruciating agony, but he visited any place he believed could assist him in constructing his school,” stated Prichard.