A 17-year-old's death in May after a welding accident at Mesabi East High School was not caused by burns suffered in the accident, according to an autopsy report by the St. Louis County Medical Examiner's Office.
"Jordan Adams-Meckola did not die from the burns," said Dr. Thomas Uncini, St. Louis County chief medical examiner in Hibbing. "He had a rare disorder called Addison's disease."
Adams-Meckola suffered second- and third-degree burns April 26 after his shirt caught fire in a shop class. He suffered burns on his chest, arms and fingers and was treated at Miller-Dwan Burn Center in Duluth. Friends and classmates said they were told that Adams-Meckola was recovering, but he died suddenly on May 12 at Miller-Dwan.
Addison's disease is a disorder that results when the body produces insufficient amounts of certain hormones produced by the adrenal glands, according to the Mayo Clinic website. The failure of adrenal glands to produce adrenocortical hormones is most commonly the result of the body attacking itself (autoimmune disease), according to the website.
Uncini said he didn't know whether Adams-Meckola and his family were aware that he had the condition.
