We had good intentions to start our blog before we entered the MTC. But sometimes life deals you a difficult hand and you need to rearrange your priorities.
Mid-January one of our daughters felt like she had the flu. As the week continued, she started complaining about a pain in her hip. She was experiencing severe pain. By Sunday the 20th, she could hardly walk and the pain was excruciating. Her husband took her to InstaCare, who in turn referred her to the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital and thus began her 9 day “get away”.
The doctors began running tests trying to figure out why her white blood cell count was 22.6 (normal is 3 to 10). They did an MRI on Monday, but could not determine why she was in such pain. Her pain was usually an 8/9 on a scale of 1-10. 10 being the worst. She also had a constant headache. On top of this, her stomach is not the strongest. Therefore she had to take anti-nausea medicine each time they gave her any pain medication, which in turn may or not stay down.
By Tuesday they still did not have any answers and her white blood cell count was still high (19). Another MRI was scheduled for Wednesday morning. The results of this MRI showed that she had infection in her hip. When the MRI was read, the doctor suspected that it was Strep A Necrotizing Fasciitis. They recommended to move her to a different hospital and consult with an infectious disease specialist.
She was transferred by paramedics to another hospital on Wednesday evening. The exploratory surgery was scheduled for Thursday morning. She began her fasting before surgery at midnight on Wednesday. Thursday morning came and went, but no surgery. Finally, about 3:00 pm Thursday afternoon she went into surgery. The results of the surgery confirmed that yes indeed she did have Strep A Necrotizing Fasciitis. The specialists had to dig deep into her hip tissue and suctioned out as much of the infection as they could. A drain was left in to continue to suck out the infection. Luckily the infection had not gotten to the bone yet. A picc line was inserted and she started receiving antibiotics continually for the next two and a half weeks.
Necrotizing fasciitis is a bacterial skin infection, also commonly referred to as flesh-eating bacteria or flesh-eating disease, that spreads incredibly fast and kills soft tissue. We feel extremely blessed that she came out of this whole ordeal as well as she did. We learned later that 1 out of 4 people die from this. If they survive, many lose a limb. We know the Lord was watching over her and are thankful that she is still with us and recovering, even if it is slower than everyone would like it to be.
"It is good advice, even for normal life challenges to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."
Dieter F. Uchtdorf - The Gospel at 30,000 Feet
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