A Missouri teen has been hospitalized with an infection, said to be life-threatening, that resulted from an attempt to pierce his own lip.

Ezekiel Zeke Wheeler, 15, of Blue Springs, Mo., was being treated at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., for a severe staph infection.

Zeke's father, John Wheeler, said his son's ordeal started April 8, when he was home sick with the flu and bronchitis, and tried to pierce his own lip. When initial attempts failed, the boy used a needle from a first-aid kit before his mother stopped him.

A week later, Zeke was taken to a hospital emergency room with a fever and was diagnosed with viral infection, The Kansas City Star reported Wednesday.

The boy has undergone several surgeries to remove infection from his knee and hips. Now he faces the prospect of heart surgery and is undergoing a long course of antibiotics.

He was eventually taken to Children's Mercy, where he was diagnosed as having methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a strain of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to some antibiotics, but treatable with others. (c) UPI