health
A Scottish mother of two feels “lucky to be alive” after suffering a 20cm deep gash on her butt due to a rare flesh-eating disease.
“It looks like a peach where someone took a big bite out of one side,” said Tracy de Jongh Eglin, 59. I lamented to SWNS.
The former event manager, who now lives in the Netherlands, said she started experiencing flu-like symptoms on January 20th. She went into septic shock and collapsed, and she was rushed to the hospital five days later.
Doctors discovered a large black lump on her left hip, and Eglin was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a life-threatening bacterial infection.
She was in a coma for nine days and underwent three surgeries to remove infected tissue and muscle. Her family was reportedly told that she had only a 10% chance of survival. Miraculously, she pulled through.
“It was very traumatic and changed my life forever,” Eglin said. “I lost [70 pounds] And I had to learn to walk again. I still can’t sit up and have to bring my own pillow with me everywhere I go. ”
Eglin’s husband, Aldrick, 65, became concerned in January when his wife started sweating profusely and had difficulty walking.
She was taken to Gelderland Valley Hospital in the Netherlands and diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis. If the infection progresses rapidly, it destroys the soft tissue.
“My husband had to drive in the back of the ambulance, not knowing if I was going to make it out alive,” Eglin said.
The cause of the infection is not clear, but doctors reportedly told Eglin that it could be a simple infection, such as an ingrown hair or blemish.
“My family was told to prepare for the worst. They didn’t think I would survive,” Eglin recalled. “I spent nine days in a coma, and when I finally regained consciousness, I was incredibly disoriented and kept hallucinating.”
Eglin believed he was a 17-year-old staying at a five-star hotel. She has forgotten how to speak Dutch, she said.
“I woke up with a catheter, a stoma and a 20cm deep wound. It took nurses two hours each day to change the bandages and clean the wound,” she added.
Her catheter was removed after eight months, but she will reportedly need a colostomy bag for the rest of her life.
She spent six weeks in the hospital, receiving physical therapy, psychotherapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy for several weeks before being transferred to a rehabilitation center.
“I was completely devastated and had to rebuild my life. I became very weak, my voice changed, and I had to learn how to walk again,” Eglin said.
“The physical recovery was incredibly painful, but mentally it was the hardest,” she continued.
Despite the trauma, Eglin said the ordeal changed her outlook on life and her relationship with her family for the better.
“The only good thing about all this is that I feel closer to my husband than ever before,” she exclaimed. “It’s like falling in love all over again. Our relationship has improved immeasurably.”
She recommends seeing your doctor if you think a bad flu is turning into something else.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my husband’s quick thinking and the quick response of doctors and ambulances,” she stressed.
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