Together for Nina - Medical Bills&Rehabilitation

A flesh-eating bacterium. Necrotizing Fasciitis, is a rare bacterial infection that spreads quickly in the body and can cause death. This is what my mom has been diagnosed with.

Just before Christmas, my mom started feeling unwell. At first, we thought it was an insect bite that caused swelling and infection, which resulted in a terrible fever and severe nausea. We managed to get my mom a doctor's appointment and received a diagnosis, unfortunately, this was a misdiagnosis, as my mom has a pre-existing condition, meaning she is at a higher risk, due to a weakened immune system.

A few days later, she still wasn’t feeling any better. Nausea, vomiting, fever, not being able to eat or drink, confused and full of fear. The closest hospital was Linksfield, a private hospital. My mom doesn't have medical aid, but we needed to get her seen as soon as possible. She was rushed to the hospital, they checked her over, it didn't look good. They needed to do some blood tests, to see what was wrong and how to proceed. The blood tests came back, it was more urgent than we thought, she needed to be admitted into ICU immediately. Her white blood cell count was high, her kidneys were struggling, and her heart rate was elevated and irregular. In the initial assessment, we needed to get her stable and she needed to have surgery to have the abscess drained, to control the infection.

Surgery was planned for the next day; however, my mom wasn’t stable enough. They didn’t want to put her under anaesthetic. For the rest day and night, they monitor and observe her vitals to make sure she is stable. Early morning, the next day, they take her in for the first surgery, and it turns out to be even worse than we had imagined. Necrotizing fasciitis. A rare life-threatening soft tissue infection that requires immediate attention to keep it from destroying skin, muscle and soft tissue. The word necrotising comes from the Greek word ‘nekros’ which means ‘corpse’ or ‘dead’. A necrotizing infection causes patches of tissue to die. A flesh-eating bacterium. They remove a large part of the infected area. Remove the skin, tissue and muscle. As much as they can do, to prevent the infection from spreading. But her heart was still irregular, her kidneys struggling, and the risk of sepsis is high.

After the second surgery, she is a little more stable, but this is only the beginning of a very long road. She will need to stay in the ICU. She will have to have 4 or 5 more surgeries, to make sure it's kept under control. She will need to be watched and monitored and eventually have plastic surgery, to rebuild the area.

At present, my mom is having better days, and worse days, I am just so thankful that there are… days. That night we got her to the hospital, just in time.

The hospital teams are keeping a close eye on her wound and infection. The medical bills are mounting, we still don't have the final number from the private hospital or the procedures there. My mom will need to stay in the hospital for the foreseeable future and won't be able to work for a very long time to come.

My mom is the strongest person I know. She is the kindest, most compassionate, most loving person. I am sure many of you also hold fond memories of her. From her time as a teacher, a motivational speaker, a charity worker, a laughter therapist and so much more. A time she taught you, sang with you, created art with you, helped you or just sat with you. She has brought joy, inspiration and positivity to so many people and she would give her last for anyone.

Any contribution would be appreciated and received with so much gratitude.