I was then transferred to a
normal ward only in a side room isolated from everyone. I got
worse progressively day by day and it was decided that I needed a second
opinion. A specialised Doctor from a nearby hospital came and he
was shocked at what he had discovered.
I had the killer flesh eating bacteria Necrotising
Fasciitis.
I was transferred immediately by ambulance
to his operating theatre and within 30 minutes I was in the operating
theatre. On coming round I found myself in intensive therapy unit
lying beside many on ventilators etc; I watched as two patients died
and as the families came and went as they grieved for their loved ones. I
often thought when was my time?
On being assessed by the Doctor the following
morning I found out that I had an open wound and was in shock. It
was 18 inches long and the depth and the width was beyond belief. What
was going on?
I was soon transferred back to the maternity
hospital so my daughter Chloe could have daily access and contact, not
that I was in a fit state to care or look after her. I often felt
isolated and alone but when Chloe came to visit it brightened up my day,
it gave me a reason to live on. I was again transferred to another nearby
hospital to a specialist plastic surgery unit. I underwent three
more operations to try and contain the infection from spreading. Chloe
was given daily access and that was most important to me at this time. I
became depressed and longed to be at home with my beautiful baby daughter. But
that day seemed to be so far away.
Then the news came that I was going to be attached
to a relatively new device called a vac machine, supplied by KCI. This
machine took away all unnecessary body fluid and encouraged the wound
to heal from the inside outwards. I was then given the exciting news
that I could go home. I was so ill and frail to look after Chloe
on my own and Marc used all his work leave possible, so I had to stay
with my parents just to have Chloe around 24 hrs a day. It
was great but life still remained challenging. District nurses
came and went daily and I had regular hospital visits. The district
nurses came at many different times each day and every day I had to be
up and washed and dressed for 8am. Often still at 2pm I was still
waiting and this meant I spent most of my time indoors. Everyday
my parents tried to talk to them to come to an agreement so I could try
and function somewhat normally, but to no avail. This meant I was becoming
more dependent at being indoors and very depressed. The days I could
get out I was often to sore or tired to try or to depress.
Eventually 14 months later the wound finally
healed. But that was not to be the end of my problems. My
wound often cracks and I have to apply antibiotic cream. Without
plastic or reconstructive surgery this will continue and I am too afraid
to let the surgery take place, as I could not go through NF again.
In August 2006 I eventually moved back to my
own property with my husband Marc. But life is still challenging
due to the lack of services for mental health, I was not given any help
or assistance. I try to keep focused and Chloe is my main focus,
only I lost sight of that focus twice and made attempts to take my own
life.
I know now that this is not the road I wanted
to go down but it was a major cry for help, only no one wanted to help
me.
I soon met this remarkable lady who inspired
me to campaign for my rights to the services I required and 2 years later
they are now in place. IF I HAD NOT BEEN GIVEN THE SUPPORT OF MARC
AND MY CLOSE FAMILY I DO NOT KNOW WHERE LIFE MIGHT HAVE TAKEN ME! I STILL
SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY BUT WITH SUPPORT NETWORKS IN PLACE
I CAN SEE MYSELF BEGINNING TO RECOVER ALTHOUGH IT IS A SLOW DRAWN OUT
PROGRESS.THEY SAY BAD BEGINNINGS HAVE HAPPY ENDINGS, ONLY I AM STILL
WAITING ON MY HAPPY ENDING TO COME.
Elaine
from Glasgow |
web designer and web master andrewjchurst@ajcsd.com 
