Runner loses leg to bacterial infection

2023-04-28 17:46:49

A UK woman lives a nightmare after 85% of her muscles are destroyed by bacteria, leading to the amputation of her left leg. Runner Emma Doherety, 37, was infected in hospital while being treated for a generalized infection (sepsis) and had less than a 2% chance of surviving.

The woman was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a bacterial infection that causes the body’s muscles to die and spreads rapidly. “You could even see my bones”, she writes, in the online campaign to raise funds for her treatment.

“The disease spread to my arms, legs and stomach. I was left with hideous wounds and scars, my left leg was amputated and my stomach is now only 2 millimeters thick. My right foot is so deformed that I can’t wear normal shoes. I cover myself from neck to toes every day – seeing the state of my body makes me depressed and I have had suicidal thoughts,” says Emma.

The woman was infected in February 2021. Necrotizing fasciitis is a bacterial infection caused by six different bacteria, often conjugated, and is potentially fatal as it spreads through muscles and organs. The disease destroys muscle, causing intense pain, and treatment needs to be done with the removal of the entire affected area, in addition to the use of antibiotics.

According to a case study published by nurses from Goiás in 2017, fasciitis is usually contracted by infections of open wounds. Contact with bacteria can even happen through cavities.

It is not known exactly how Emma was infected, but the condition is so serious that doctors even asked her mother to think about euthanasia. “They said I wouldn’t have any quality of life if I survived,” she added.

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kitty to help

Emma survived and found ways to live her life despite her fragile state of health. However, she is still awaiting stomach reconstruction surgery and, due to her motor limitation, the woman is unable to work.

In 2022, Emma’s mother’s health has failed and she can no longer be responsible for her daughter’s care. Now, Emma is looking for financial help on the internet to buy an electronic wheelchair, as well as tools that will allow her to adapt her home so that she can live more independently.

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