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family photo / aimeecopeland.com
Aimee Copeland has been clinging to life since contracting a bacterial infection last week.
Flesh-eating bacteria have cost a young woman her left leg and will result in more amputations, but she is defying the "slim to none" odds of survival that doctors gave her, more than a week after a gash to her calf sent her to the emergency room.
Aimee Copeland of Snellville, Ga., had her left leg amputated last week. On Thursday, doctors determined that the 24-year-old would need to have her remaining foot and her hands amputated, according to grad school classmates who created a website about her ordeal.
"She's in critical condition today," Barclay Bishop, public relations manager for the doctor's hospital at the Joseph. M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, told msnbc.com on Thursday.
Copeland's battle began last Tuesday, when she was kayaking on a river in Carrollton, Ga., her father, Andy Copeland, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She stopped to ride a homemade zip line, he said. The line snapped and she fell, splitting her leg open. She went to the emergency room at Carrollton's Tanner Medical Center, and was released with 22 staples in her calf and doctors' advice to take Motrin and Tylenol, he said.
The following day, in "severe pain," her father wrote on his blog, aimeecopeland.com, which he started after his daughter had her accident, she returned to Tanner Medical to get painkillers. Over the next several days, she received antibiotics as the pain increased and had an MRI, which he said came back clean, but by Friday, a concerned friend brought her back in.
By then, she was "pale and weak," her father wrote. That's when she was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating bacteria, to her damaged leg.
Necrotizing fasciitis can destroy muscles, skin and tissue, according to the National Institute of Health. When the bacteria enter the body -- usually through a cut -- they spread and release toxins that affect blood flow to the area, killing tissue.
How she possibly contracted it
Doctors believe Copeland contracted the bacteria -- Aeromonas hydrophila -- last Tuesday in the incident along Georgia's Little Tallapoosa River. When the zip line broke, Copeland likely was exposed to the bacteria in the river through her open wound, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
When her leg was stapled shut, the bacteria was closed inside, reported the paper.
Her case is extremely rare, medical professionals say. Most people who encounter the bacteria have minor stomach or skin irritation, according to the Atlantic Journal Constitution.
Copeland's classmates wrote on their Web page that she had been diagnosed with lupus several months ago, an autoimmune disorder. Compromised immune systems make it more difficult to fight off infections and may have contributed to Copeland's severe reaction.
To save her life, surgeons amputated Copeland's leg above her hip and removed tissue from her stomach as well. She was airlifted last Friday to Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, the largest burn center in the Southeast.
During the surgery, Copeland briefly went into cardiac arrest, her dad wrote on his blog.
Related story: Woman loses arm to flesh-eating bacteria from bath salts
Related story: Flesh-eating bacteria case spurs study, treatment
Over the next several days, there were more hurdles: Copeland's fever spiked to 102, and she was placed on a ventilator. On Tuesday, her father wrote, "The doctor was careful to set expectations this morning: Aimee's survival chances are 'slim to none.' She continues to experience a major shutdown of all five major organs. The rate of survival when three organs shutdown is very poor."
By Thursday morning, Copeland had started to regain functions, including some of her ability to breathe.
"Aimee was a bit combative earlier. She started moving her arms last night and they have restrained her to prevent her from pulling out all her tubes," wrote Andy Copeland on his blog. "She wore a nasty frown on her reddened face and tears pooled around her eyes. I gently stroked her hair and explained the circumstances that brought her there. I also told her all the wonderful things that the community is doing in her honor."
And later Thursday, there was more good news from Copeland's sister, Paige, 25.
"Her eyes are wide open and she is nodding or shaking her head to the questions we ask. My hope for her recovery is stronger than ever!" wrote Paige Copeland. But the ventilator was still breathing for her, she added.
There isn't any indication of damage to Copeland's brain from the infection, and while she's still relying on a ventilator, her "cardiopulmonologist says that her lungs are slowly healing," said the update on her classmate's website Thursday afternoon.
But "her blood vessels in her hands and in her remaining foot have died, and thus they will have to be amputated too," the update said.
Town holding fundraisers, blood drives
Copeland is a graduate student studying psychology at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, which is 40 miles west of Atlanta and has about 24,000 residents. Her school is holding a blood drive for her next week, a co-worker told msnbc.com, and fundraisers to help her family with medical bills.
"Aimee's a very happy, bubbly, positive, person. She's got a great outlook on life," said Michelle Keller, 42, an assistant to the manager at Sunnyside Cafe in Carrollton, where Copeland had worked as a waitress for about six months. "She's doing better. There's improvement today ... She's definitely come a long way, that's for sure."
At Sunnyside Cafe, concerned customers have been checking in on Copeland "constantly," Keller said.
"The phone has been ringing all day, people wanting to know how she's doing," she said. "People will stop by just to see how she's doing. We've got donation jars out and we've got people who are coming in not even to eat, just to put money in the donation jar."
A prayer vigil for Copeland was planned in Carrolton on Thursday evening, Keller said.
Copeland's father has also set up a Facebook page, which had gotten more than 21,350 likes as of Thursday evening.
"I type this factual progression of Aimee’s condition as a way to better cope with what is without a doubt the most horrific situation that a parent can possibly imagine. We take so much for granted in life, but I never imagined that one of my daughters would face this most unlikely of situations," Andy Copeland wrote on his blog and Facebook page.
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This woman is the cousin of a very dear friend of mine, and it's heartbreaking to see how hard this is for him and his family. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with the family, and keep the donations going. We're all really hoping to see her pull through this, despite the odds.
Hydrogen Peroxide used immediately would have prevented this tragic infection.
That's not true for all bacteria - and, it's not true for this species in particular. This species is able to tolerate the oxidative stress that hydrogen peroxide generates.
Holy cow, I would not wish this even on my worst enemy. I am so sorry for what she is going through. I don't even know what else to say but that I have she gets through this and gains peace again soon.
My prayers are with her and the family.
I'm praying for her
Right, Einstein. I suppose that you carry around a bottle of hydrogen peroxide everywhere that you go? Who in his right mind would think that this was something would she pack along in her kayak? You are insensitive and ignorant.
I hope this is what she wanted. One leg off above the hip, the other foot and both hands gone. I wouldn't want to live like that.
If they haven't been putting her in hyperbaric oxygen at O2 pressure of 2.0 bar (atmospheres), they should start immediately.
That should have been done first thing. It is extremely rare to lose limbs to infection when hyperbaric oxygen is used. Extremely rare. She should be given as many as 10 treatments per day of 1 hour each at pressure. Unfortunately, few surgeons understand it, and physicians today are not properly taught how to use it medical school. This is exactly the kind of infection that hyperbaric oxygen is for.
At her age and condition, oxygen toxicity is very rare. If it does occur and she convulses, drop the O2 pressure to 1.6 bar. (1 bar = 1 atmosphere)
I would rather die. I hope the amputations are her choice and not something others are deciding for her.
What a bizarre situation. What is wrong with the doctors Suture the women up and send her home? She had just fallen into water that had any number of bacteria and toxins in it. If the water didn't have a spring underneath and the water was fairly still that increases the toxicity even more. I'm not a physician or a nurse and I can't imagine letting her go home. I would have been screaming bloody murder. Something isn't right here. Ellen sounds so logical that I have to wonder what kind of medical staff they had on hand. IF the damage to the leg was the severe how could they have established a sterile field around the wound? This sounds like 19th century medicine. I thought President Garfield's historic mistreatment was terrible - until I read this. Even in those days doctors would have been exceedingly concerned about infection - and that was 140 years ago! I don't trust doctors period. I think a lot of them are just not all that competent. I advocate for my loved ones, I ask tough questions, I'm continually fighting hard. Physicians don't like me for a reason - I read - not just stuff online - but journal articles and I ask the tough questions. Please advocate for your loved ones - it could be the difference between losing limbs and keeping them or life and death.
Rin I left a message for you post number 24. I hope it may help your family member.
I feel for this woman, I can not imagine going through what she is having to endure. Hopefully she can pull out of it.
I laughed when I read the comment from the doctors
I mean what else are they going to say. They are never going to say that she contracted the infection in the hospital, even though that is far more likely than contracting it from the river. I also can not believe that the doctors did not prescribe antibiotics for her immediately in light of the fact that she had suffered a deep cut that had required 22 staples to close. This should have been done as a preventative measure with a gash like this. I do not know if it would have made a difference with this particular bacteria, but I am still surprised it was not done.
Hmm... I hope you're not in the medical field.
Also, no matter what this is a sad case. It's hard to say where exactly she contracted the disease. In the hospital? The River? The item she lacerated her leg on? Hope she makes it though, and with today's advances in technology, and the fact that this has made headline news, I imagine there is a company out there itching to hook her up with complimentary artificial body parts. Or, do hand / feet transplants. If a man can have a new hand given to him, why not her?
In the end, it is up to God whether she makes it or not.
Indeed, God has a plan. BULLCRAP God gave us this terrible disease and with a wave of his hand he could take it away, BUT NO. Yousay its upto god whether or not she makes it. LOOK AT THE SITUATION, HE has already taken her, but she has not suffered enough yet>>>
Lots of armchair physicians in this thread. Fun fact, reading some stuff online does not make you a doctor. You do not know more than the doctors. Stop acting like you are smarter and stop calling the doctors stupid.
Aeromonas is a nasty bug. It thrives under surprisingly hostile conditions; it can grow anaerobically (with little or NO oxygen) and is resistant to bleaches, disinfectants, and most antibiotics.
My thoughts are with this courageous young woman. I hope she makes it through.
This particular bacteria is NOT far more likely to have be contracted in the hospital. It lives in fresh, salt, marine, estuarine, chlorinated, and un-chlorinated water.
ENOUGH of these advertisements!!!!!
" Sherie's Berries " is placed right in the middle -at the beginning of this story. So I am sure some important facts are lost to us readers. How annoying!!
Does one not pay attention to placement of these ads???
LOSERS!!
The first time I ever heard the term "necrotizing fasciitis" was when a guitarist named Jeff Hanneman from the metal band Slayer (of which I'm a fan) contracted the disease while on tour in South America due to a spider bite on his arm. It was touch-and-go with him for quite a while. It happened over a year ago and he's still not fully healed, and still hasn't been able to rejoin the band to this day. But at least he was able go without needing to have anything amputated. Such a vicious disease! My heart truly goes out to Aimee Copeland and her family and friends.
Wow...here's to wishing the best of luck to her and her family through this awful time. No one should have to see their child go through this.
I'm surprised this isnt a more common occurrence given the prevalence of this type of bacteria....WebMD states that some of these strains (there are roughly 80) are found in 10-15% of elementary kids' throats???
@Rachel --- clearly you are not PRAYING hard enough. Did you know that it has been proven multiple times in legitimate scientific studies that prayer has NO effect on the outcome of a prognosis. Her life is in the hands of doctors and nurses alone and their are only so many procedures that they can accomplish.
@dave-21177659 - God has a plan - He gave us free will. That means He gave us the free will to choose courses of action that get you seriously hurt and killed, it's not His job to shield us from the consequences of our actions.
I mean honestly, HOMEMADE zipline? I can tell you how the conversation with my friend would go if he suggested riding that - "Cmon man, it'll be great!. " "Yeah, I'm sure, so when you fall off it and injure or kill yourself, I will be safely here on the ground to tell everybody why it happened." (friend falls off and screams for help) "Told you."
I feel for her. She is going down a very painful road. Flesh-eating bacteria are very resistant to medication and can continue to grow in places you would think it could survive. It must be treated very aggressively. I read some of the comments here and understand that unless you have been through something like this, it is impossible to know or understand how they feel and the mental state. I have been through this. I went in for a somewhat simple sinus surgery and contracted the flesh-eating bacteria from the hospital. My problem was I contracted it in a place that ruled out amputation, my frontal sinus. After multiple surguries and 2 emergency surgeries I was given less than 12% survival. Every few days I hadblood test and medication was constantly changed. After multiple surgeries and strongest antibiotics on the planet, dr. told me to spend time with my family because I had a couple of months at best before it took over and that would be it. A week later the surgeon talked to me about a last resort/option procedure that may or may not work butoptions were slim and none at this point. With nothing to lose I agreed. The dr. cut me from ear to ear across the top, peeled my scalp down, cut through my skull and performed a Full Frontal Obliteration. That was about six years ago. There are many many more details that I did not put in here because I don't really think anyone is interested in that but I am thankful to be alive and not have to say goodbye to my mom and dad, my children and my wife. I beat the odds and survived, I hope she does the same.
Most likely the infection with this bacteria happened in the hospital, as these 'superbugs' are very uncommon outside health care facilities.
@Summer - it is not merely the species of bacteria that is important, but the particular strain - in this case apparently resistant to all sorts of antibiotics. While the species is common, the particular resistant strain is likely not found outside the healthcare facilities. Some types of bacteria tend to develop drug resistance in hospitals, after a long series of disinfection and sterilization events. When your natural immune system is weak, these superbugs will do you in in no time. I hope this lady beats the odds. It is such a tragedy...
Max^108: I realize that. I simply said this species, as a whole, is resistant to hydrogen peroxide because it withstands oxidative stress (which is how hydrogen peroxide works). I also said that it's not a hospital species because it grows in aqueous conditions I mentioned above because it mentioned that she likely got it from the hospital. It's actually highly UNLIKELY that she got it from the hospital. All of the strains of this species are unlikely to be found in a hospital setting.
Regardless, like you, I hope she beats the odds. It is most certainly a tragedy.
I have gone through a similar thing - though mine truly was a hospital acquired infection. When I had my oldest son, there were a lot of complications and it ended in an emergency c-section, in which one of the doctors was kneeling over my chest doing chest compressions while my son was being delivered. Basically, once things went really bad, they went bad very fast, and the sterile field of surgery was compromised. While I never lost any limbs, I did have to have my incision reopened and allowed to heal on it's own, I had all major organ systems shutting down, etc., etc. I was in the hospital for 4 1/2 months before I went home to finish recovering.
I can only imagine that it's going to take for this young woman to recover.
Pilot1-3869368: I disagree. Prayer does help. My husband has pancreatic cancer, got sepsis and was in intensive care. I honestly thought he was going to die. Many, many prayers were said and he honestly came back from the dead. Even the physicians were surprised at his recovery. So keep prayers going for this young lady. They do work.
Summer, I feel for you, that was an ordeal for sure... I hate hospitals, but sometimes you have no choice. I am a big fan of radiation sterilization in hospital environment, as it does not lead to super-strain formation in bacteria. But this method is politically incorrect in the US.
And the article suggests that the bacteria was left alive, stapled inside her wound, by the hospital. It is possible of course.
Max^108: Thanks, fortunately, my son was healthy after he had to be resuscitated twice, and I fully recovered.
It's funny - I'm not a big fan of hospitals either, but I'm in medical school (which I love, and I can't wait to practice). I strongly feel that if the person can safely be cared for at home, they should be at home. They are more comfortable, and are more likely to heel quickly and fully. You're right though, sometimes a hospital is the best place for the person to be.
You're right on radiation sterilization. It is used in some facilities, but not all.
I work in a lab and have a fairly decent understanding of microbiology. Sterilization by radiation is actually a lot cheaper in the long run, but the entrenched chemical and physical sterilization providers have a huge stake at keeping things as they are.
Max^108: I'll take your word on that, and, to be honest, it wouldn't surprise me. When in undergrad, I did a lot of research in microbiology - and I'm familiar with the cost of certain equipment, but not with sterilization equipment (even though I used certain types routinely).
If anything like this ever happens to me I sure hope my sisters refuse treatment and let me die! This is too awful-no legs and no hands? I'm a nurse and they cut off this girl's leg ABOVE her hip? What is THAT all about?
It's about stopping the progression of the bacteria.
I understand where you're coming from. I don't know how I would react, but this young lady's love of life and resilience cannot be denied. I can only hope that I would be as strong as she is proving herself to be.
@Jan Wheeler Lachowycz -
With all due respect...I'm not in the medical field and even I know about amputation above the hip. It's because the necrosis was so advanced, obviously. (Have you never treated anyone with cancer?)
Here you go; Google is your friend...
God has to allow suffering like this is the world so that people can have free will to choose between good and evil.
What? How does getting an infection even remotely apply to Free will? If you really believe in God then you believe in healing. Now point out the good and evil in this case.
That makes no sense. There are no gods. Religion is just plain weird!
If a god wanted to point out good vs evil, he'd make the evil suffer. But that's beside the point -- I agree with Skyviper73.
Cruel and utterly inappropriate b.s., Joan. Your God doesn't "allow" suffering - if anything, he created it.
Actually, the answers why are more simple than you might imagine. They are simple, elegant, and all of you will in time understand how important this life is, and why even this suffering is allowed to happen.
But since very few, if any, will believe me, just choose to be as good and kind, and moral of a person as you can. Whether you believe or not, it should not change the fact that you would want to be nice, fair, and good to people. It should not change the fact that you should want to be wise and just either way.
And people like you are worst than the bacteria.
Oh my God. You are insane. Take it to the snake people you should be associating with
Ever since the first ones chose not to obey, like most of us, we choose the dangers of the fallen world and the consequences come to us. We choose to be our own God and worship ourselves instead of looking at the world, seeing how absolutely amazing it is and that it in no way is just a series of accidents and mixing of chemicals that produced it all. We'd rather believe the accidental mixture theory than that there is a living God who does let us choose.
This "wound" she had should have been cleaned better before "stapling" it shut!!
Rosie, I agree and she should have been put on antibiotics immediately given how she received the injury in a dirty river. I also assume the doctors were told she had lupus, which makes any infection much more serious and certainly demands antibiotics even propholactically. These efforts may not have totally abated the infection, but it would have certainly decreased the severity of the infection and the rapidity with which it spread.
The doctors aren't idiots. Cleaning the wound before stapling it and administering antibiotics are basic medical care in a situation like this. What makes you think they didn't do this? Try rereading the article. You might learn something.
They didn't give her antibiotics until Thursday, when she got hurt on Tuesday. They told her to take tylenol for the pain. I've been in that hospital before. We have a saying in Carrollton: "If you want to die, go to Tanner." (our hospital)
Ask yourself this.
What's more likely?
1. The doctors simply stapled her leg shut without prescribing antibiotics? or
2. The 22 year old intern that finished her bagel this morning while typing this story up failed to mention the initial prescription was supplemented with a stronger one a couple days later?
Some Doctors make an A in school, others make a C-. They are all out there practicing.
@alison-506550 and @Rosy-2481445, (and possibly a few others):
It would probably be wise to get more information before offering criticism of Aimee's medical care. The father himself has nothing but praise for her care at both facilities, and he would know far more than us about the quality of care Aimee's received. If you read more than one article, you'll discover that the bacteria from the river water-- Aeromonas hydrophila-- is not usually associated with necrotizing fascilitis (usually caused by staph or strep), and that Aimee's unusual reaction to this bacteria is likely due in part to her compromised immune system (she was recently diagnosed with lupus). And she did receive antibiotic treatment, broad spectrum, until the bacteria responsible was identified and the antibiotics narrowed down accordingly.
Her father's spiritual wisdom and insight is phenomenal. I have been encouraged by reading Andy's blog, and not only pray for this gal and her family, but have gained strength for my own life from his willingness to share this struggle and his own very personal perspective. God bless Aimee and her family.
As an ICU nurse I have had two patients w necrotizing fascitis. one in the arm that swelled to twice its size in a matter of hours and within 20 minutes of admittance was rushed to OR. Another had it in h** scalp and had to have h** whole scalp above h** ears removed and part of a forearm.
What's with the "h**"? Do you really think that anyone is going to be able to identify the patient to whom you refer if you specify "her" or "his"? Jeez!
It would improve the odds by a statistically significant margin.
Thank you HIPPA. Just when I thought it couldn't get any dumber...
Anyway, I happen to know three people who have had this. It doesn't seem as rare as they make it out to be. I've heard it's more prevalent in the NW though.
Prayers for her and her family.
sending healing prayers to Aimee. <3
This is so horrible. My sympathies to her and her family.
This is apparently a "dirty" wound after the fact - after she contracted necrotizing fasciitis. I guess we all now know that this wound should have been left open, she should have been instructed on dressing changes, and most importantly somebody at the emergency room should have realized that increased pain in a leg wound is either a compartment syndrome, and/or an early and very reliable sign of infection. Earlier staple removal, wound care and antibiotics would probably have changed the outcome of this tragic story. I also hope she received a tetanus booster for her newly diagnosed "dirty" wound.
From which university did you receive your medical degree, Pedeped? Try doing a little research on necrotizing bacteria.
Aimee has lupus. There was no stopping this infection for her.
A sad case...
This disease is not like any other. You are talking about something where you don't have a clue. I lost a brother in law to this.
The ramifacations of this desease are exposed when it happens to a bright and attractive young woman but it is becoming more prevelant in the human population as it is constantly evolving or mutating which makes the fight against it far more difficult than you may emagine. I lost a friend to it and she also suffered from Lupis. I hope that this has a better outcome and to the nurse that wondered why they didn't let her pass remember her mind and her personality remains and that is what her people love anyway. With the love of her people she can live a long and productive life and I would like that to be her prognosis. As a parent who missed the challenges faced by hers I can only look up, say thanks, and send something to the bank account to help. Hope you all can do a little to assist as well.
Would you like to live the remainder of you life from age 24 with one leg missing, the other foot removed and no hands?
Isn't this autoimmune disease also considered a type of cancer?
I would not want to live with no hands one leg and 2 feet missing. I would hope they let me pass and set up a scholarship of some sort in my name.
Maybe this is insensitive of me, but if it was me, I'd rather die than live without my hands or my legs. What kind of life is that. What kind of life is that- making others take full care of me for the rest of my life. I just think this is a horrible situation and my heart goes out to her and her family.
Steven Hawking. That's all I have to say.
Have you never seen amputees who can do anything they want? I know I have.
she is beauty..sorry for her
I used to volunteer at a program that gave handicapped kids weekly horseback rides. My first day there, I saw two tiny boys sitting in one chair. Each of them had only small stumps for legs and arms that stopped near their elbows -- birth defects from thalidomide. My first reaction was to feel so sorry for them. Then the boys started making a lot of noise and one of them exclaimed, "He's kissing me and I don't want him to!" And both little kids giggled. They were spirited boys -- full of spunk, intelligence and joy. I quickly learned to have admiration for them, not pity.
Years later, I saw a newspaper article about one of the boys. He was doing well in high school, had a girlfriend and played drums in the school band. His wheelchair gave him great mobility and he rode the city buses. He loved football...and though he obviously could not play football himself, he impressed the coach with his enthusiasm and knowledge of the game and the coach asked him to serve as an assistant coach to the school football team. This young man did not let his disability deter him. He had a great attitude and created a joyful and productive life for himself.
So...please know that there is hope for this young woman to also experience much joy in her life, even though her amputations will have greatly altered her circumstances.
Comment # 12 deleted, derail.
I may be taking your comment the wrong way & apologize if I am.... but a person's beauty is not on the outside, it's what they have inside - given her father's comment's, she has a love a life, her soul/heart is more beautiful than her face or body.
Friends of hers are posting (see first post), I think that those who are saying she may be better off not surviving are being quite insensitive - she is able to communicate & old enough to make her own decisions (which I assume she is doing) - admire her courage instead of discounting her life or beauty.
Wow...these are the stories that only one can read and be brought back down to Earth. Very humbling how easy one's life can change. I personally force myself to sit back down even for a few minutes to cherish each single piece of life I have (good or bad) and thank God for my health. I pray for Aimee I wish her God's help the rest of the way and for her family too.
What the so called professionals (doctors and nurses) didn't clean the womb, make sure there was no bacteria in it. Sue the bastards. They think they can get away with anything.
What proof do you have that the professionals didn't clean the wound? Idiot.
What good would it have done to clean her womb? And what so called medical school did you go to?
I had surgery on my shoulder and contracted narcotizin faciitis two weeks after the surgery. It is a fast acting bacteria the only takes hours to cause damage. I changed the dressing on my surgery site and there was no indication of infection nor abnormal pain. Four hours later I was in the docs office with redness and extreme pain.
Skin, including wounds, can't be sterilized.
i hope she makes it through
How terrible. My thoughts & prayers are with her & her loved ones.
Very, very scary.
How terrible for her and her family--what a tragic occurrence. Even if the medical team can stop the infection she will have a significantly reduced quality of life. She won't even be able to feed herself with no hands. It's such a shame for a girl who was en route to getting a masters.
I had a similar case in '97 when it was just coming to the forefront as a problem. I almost lost my left leg and was very very lucky. 120 days of IV antibiotics 3 times a day. My prayers are with you! You can do it!
How sad for this poor young girl to be going through this at this stage of her life...I can't even begin to imagine how she's feeling. I really hope she pulls through this without losing all of her limbs.
Something like this happened to my father n law. My son playfully bit him on his arm, my son had strep throat at the time. The bite was small but enough to break skin. A couple days later his arm swole up. He went to hospital and had to stay there for 18 days. They had to do surgery to remove the tissue around the bite. He was weak and ill with fever. Luckily they were able to cut most of the infection out, but they left the wound open and cleaned it several times a day. They had to change his antibiotic and luckily he recovered. I know this is horrible to experience and our prayers are with you!
It sounds bleak indeed, but I will say prayers for her to pull through.
How awful how a life can be changed permanently in a matter of days....
I don't know if this particular type of bacteria would have responded to medical maggot therapy but I watched a documentary on this therapy and it saved a woman foot that was being destroyed by bacteria and painful surgery was not necessary. The patient was a diabetic. In fact it was a situation of cut her foot off or use the maggots. In two days these little medical maggots cleaned all the dead flesh away and left the healthy flesh alone which is not possible with conventional cleaning or surgical methods. It was also considerably less painful and less physically traumatic to the patient. This method of treatment is coming back into view as antibiotic resistance has become more of a problem in treating these unresponsive types of infections.
I don't know if that would have helped in her case, because this bacteria destroys in hours and it probably would take too long. But I did watch a Discovery thing about that. It was really interesting.
if it was a diabetic with an injured foot, that seems reasonable. different kind of bugs, different circumstances, and probably a loss of optimal blood circulation in the foot. necrotizing fasciitis is a totally different beast.
the bugs aren't actually eating the tissue, they're chucking out toxins that cause cell death. or superantigens that trigger killer white blood cells to chuck out their contents at anything nearby regardless of whether it's a bacteria or a host cell. that's why debridement or amputation is usually the go-to treatment; it clears out the visible infection, necrotized tissue, and some surrounding tissue to ensure close-to if not total clearance of the bacteria and toxins. if it isn't cleared, septicemia sets in and usually leads to organ failure and shock.
maggots wouldn't be able to clear out the problem completely. they'd just pick off the dead tissue.
At this stage, if she lives and I hope she is able to; then make the most of it that she can; no one would want this put on them, and neither also with quadraplegia, leprosy, deformaties, like so called "elephant man", major debilitating injuries and illnesses, but some people still survive and contribute much, and are allegedly, after a period of time able to "happily" function in whatever condition they encounter.
Who knows what medical advances may occur in the near or somewhat distant future, say like the abiliity to grow or restore limbs, etc. You live with what you get, if you can psych yourself into doing the best you are able.
She still might be able to have a family some day; if she survives, more power to her and her family.
May the spirits provide strength , peace and comfort for this child and her family in the days ahead.
It sounds like this girl's situation is going from very grave to even worse. I have to agree with the posters who would rather not live than to have leg, foot and hands removed with her vital organs all threatening to shut down. Modern medicine may coax her body to continue to exist but is this the good outcome everyone is praying for? My own severely handicapped son endured years of medically forced "life" and despite all that he finally (mercifully) succumbed . I still regret and feel guilt for all the agony he suffered because we couldn't let him go. There's no easy answer here but I did learn there are worse things than death.