Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Gary Beatham had been blamed for her death. He couldn’t understand why.

Beatham’s girlfriend of two years, Louise Armstrong, came down with flu-like symptoms in late December. The morning of New Year’s Eve, Beatham woke in their Penrith, Australia, home to find his partner gravely ill with blisters covering her body. He called the ambulance, but it was too late. Armstrong had died.

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About 300 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) each year. It is a serious and life-threatening disorder often caused by an allergic reaction to prescription and over-the-counter medications, and it can affect people of all ages, including children. Those afflicted by the disease experience severe and often painful inflammation of the mucus membranes and, if left untreated, it can result in blindness, serious health problems, and death.

Julie McCawley became a victim of SJS when she was just 11 months old. Her mother, Jean McCawley, established the SJS Foundation in 1995 to provide the public and medical communities with information about the adverse allergic drug reactions and to serve as a support outlet for victims of SJS and their families. Today, Julie is 14 years old and as a result of SJS has lost vision in one of her eyes.

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