<s>[INST] my healthy nephew was in pain, went to a hospital they gave pain medicine but never check to see what the cause was. sent him home, went to another hospital and when he laid down to be seen he could not feel his legs. they did surgery that night and found a staph infection. he has no feeling from the chest down. is this a common problem? [/INST] Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor. I can understand your concern. Loss of sensation below cheat is suggestive of spinal cord disease. Spinal cord supplies nerves to all parts of the body. There are several nerve roots originating from cord. In your nephews' case possibility of spinal cord damage at lumber spine is high. Damage at this level causes sensory loss below chest. So this needs evaluation in the form of MRI spine to rule out cause. So consult spine specialist and discuss all these and then start appropriate treatment. Hope I have solved your query. Wishing good health to your nephew. Thanks. </s>