WATERLOO - "Watch," says Thad Olmstead, hopping off the bottom step of his front porch.

As his shoes hit the concrete landing below, his prosthetic legs make a clicking noise under his muscled frame. He turns around to be sure his audience is still paying attention.

"Last year all he wanted to do was learn how to jump," says his mom, Mary Olmstead. "He did it."

For the rambunctious 7-year-old, there is no "can't." There is no "won't." There is no could have.

There is only will.

For the youngster who battled and emerged triumphant against a disease that kills many of those who contract it, life is about ability, not disability.

"Thad doesn't know he's handicapped," says Dr. Stephen Riggs, the boy's pediatrician at Covenant Medical Center. "He completely does everything. He walks. He runs. He doesn't see himself as different."

Six years ago, at less than a year old, Thad had taken only a single step on his tiny feet before a rare infection ravaged his body, stealing his legs and most of his fingers.

"I never got to see him feel the grass under his feet," says his mom.

Thad was born healthy and rolled through infancy with nothing more than the usual sniffles from the common cold. On March 21, 1999, at 11 months old, he developed a high fever and flu-like symptoms. Mary sought treatment for her son at the Allen Hospital emergency room where Riggs was the attending physician.

"There's some of those cases you just don't forget. Thad was one of them," Riggs says. "He came to the ER looking mildly ill. By the time he went from the ER to the (pediatric) floor the nurses were calling in a panic."

Thad was lethargic, having trouble breathing and had raging red and purple splotches all over his body. Suspecting meningoccal disease, a rare bacterial blood infection, Riggs prescribed intravenous antibiotics and ordered that Thad be intubated and put on a respirator. Riggs then called for emergency evacuation to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

"We got him on a helicopter immediately," Riggs recalls.

Fearing the worst, Mary and her husband, Curt, called in a priest to baptize their son in the emergency room.

"The doctors told us to talk to our son because that might be the last time we ever see him," says Mary. "My knees just buckled underneath me."

Meningococcal disease is an extremely fast infection that can be fatal within hours.

"I've seen patients with this who I'm talking to in the ER and by that evening they're dead," notes Riggs.

The infection occurs most commonly in infants less than a year old and young adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, which causes both meningitis and meningococcal disease.

During the early stages, a doctor cannot tell the illness from illnesses such as viral influenza, according to the Wisconsin Health Care Library's Web site. The first signs of the infection's severity are small bleeding spots on the skin. Within hours, the blood vessel damage increases and large bleeding areas appear on the skin. The same changes are taking place in the internal organs. Blood pressure drops and blood clots in the vessels. When the clotting occurs in large arteries, as it did with Thad, it results in major tissue damage. Large areas of skin, muscle and internal organs die from lack of blood and oxygen.

The CDC notes meningococcal disease is fatal in 10 percent of patients, but some health care professionals say it's closer to 15 to 20 percent. A significant percent of survivors have tissue damage that requires surgical treatment, such as skin grafting or, as in Thad's case, amputation.

"We watched his legs turn from purple to black," recalls Mary.

The day after Thad's first birthday, doctors amputated his right leg to the kneecap and his left leg to the calf. A few weeks later, the boy got his first pair of prosthetic legs - "boots," Thad calls them.

Most of Thad's fingers are gone, also. He has no prostheses to replace them, instead relying on ingenuity and determination to complete necessary tasks.

Thad hasn't let his medical misfortune get in the way of an active lifestyle, though. He plays flag football, soccer and basketball and softball.

"I wasn't very good at softball," Thad says.

"What are you talking about?" says his mom. "You were a great shortstop."

Thad smiles and flexes a bicep.

He also swims like a fish, Mary said.

"I never get to go off the high dive," Thad says, scowling.

"No, because we don't know how you'll splat," explains his mom, smiling.

Thad visits Clark and Associates every few weeks for repairs and adjustments to his "boots."

"He's hard on his equipment," says Riggs, chuckling.

A second grader at Irving Elementary, Thad participates in all the same activities as his classmates. The kids in his class think his artificial limbs are cool, calling them "robot legs." Occasionally, though, children can be cruel, saying mean things or refusing to play with him.

"I just go away from them," Thad says. "They have no manners. They're not nice."

His siblings - Samantha, 14; Jessica, 12; Derrick, 10; and Krystal, 9 - are quick to defend their little brother.

"We've gotten kicked off the bus over him," notes Derrick.

Thad has more hospital visits in his future. This winter, doctors will operate to straighten and stretch his right wrist, the growth plate hampered by the infection.

But the blue-eyed boy has plans of his own for the future.

"I want to be a motorcycle cop," he says.

Those who know Thad have no doubt he'll do whatever he sets his mind to.

"He's mentally a beautiful little boy," Riggs says. "Thad will have a completely full and happy life."

Contact Meta Hemenway-Forbes at (319) 291-1483 or meta.hemenway-forbes@wcfcourier.com.

Vaccines available

There are two vaccines against meningococcal disease.

Both vaccines can prevent four types of meningococcal disease, including two of the three types most common in the United States.

Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV4 or Menomune) has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and available since 1981. Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4 or Menactra) was licensed just this year.

In May, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a new policy statement recommending routine meningococcal vaccination for certain age groups. The guidelines call for the MCV4 vaccine for:

- Young adolescents (11-12 years of age)

- Adolescents at high school entry or 15 years of age (whichever comes first) for those who have not previously been vaccinated

- All college freshmen living in dormitories

- Other groups at high risk such as those with underlying medical conditions or travelers to areas with high rates of meningococcal disease

The recommendations will help prevent meningococcal disease, a potentially fatal bacterial infection. Although rare, meningococcal disease is dangerous because the disease progresses rapidly, and within hours of the onset of symptoms it may cause permanent disability or death.

Meningococcal disease is the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in toddlers, adolescents and young adults. Symptoms include high fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, nausea, vomiting and exhaustion, and a rash may appear. Lifestyle factors thought to contribute to the disease include direct contact with an infected person, e.g., exchanging saliva, often through kissing; crowded living conditions like dormitories; and smoking.

The MCV4 vaccine has not yet been approved for use in infants, said Dr. Stephen Riggs of Covenant Medical Center, although he believes such approval is on the horizon. Children ages 2 to 10, however, can receive the MPSV4 vaccine.