It could be worse....
Aug. 21st, 2006 01:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bonniegrrlEvery now and then I get an urge to feel sorry for myself and sink into a long depression because my relationships never work out, or I'm feeling pudgy compared to half of San Francisco, or I miss my dog, or my car breaks down again and again, or I'm frustrated that I'm not a best-selling novelist yet...
But after reading this article, I don't think I'll whine for awhile.
'I just sit and cry'
Deadly infection costs cashier her arms and legs
Saturday, August 19, 2006
By STEVE DOYLE
Times Staff Writer steved@htimes.com
ALBERTVILLE - When Lisa Branham burned her thumb taking a pizza out of the oven and a blister formed, she popped it.
No big deal.
But that seemingly innocent act on March 3 nearly killed Branham when bacteria penetrated the wound and began devouring her flesh. The next day, the former Wal-Mart cashier from Marshall County was on an operating table at Huntsville Hospital having her right arm amputated at the elbow.
While the surgery stopped the rampaging bacteria, Branham later lost part of her other arm and both legs because the drugs that helped save her life reduced circulation to her extremities.
Still, Branham, 44, is lucky: Few survive such a serious bout with necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating bacteria. The rare infection is usually caused by group A streptococcus bacteria, the type also responsible for strep throat and found on many people's skin.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, necrotizing fasciitis strikes about 600 Americans a year.
People with immune systems weakened by diabetes, cancer and other chronic illnesses are especially at risk if the bacteria enters their body. All it takes is a minor skin injury: paper cut; rug burn; pin prick; popped blister.
Branham's family thinks her immune system was compromised by the steroid shots she took for back pain.
Today, Branham's health is on the mend, but she is struggling to adjust to a life without hands or feet.
"I have my days where I just sit and cry," said Branham, who is living with her parents near Albertville because her wheelchair will not fit through the doors of her house trailer. "I thought I could handle it, but the last month has been rough. It's really just hit me, I guess."
Her husband Gaylon, a concrete truck driver, says he isn't sure how the couple will pay for the high-tech artificial limbs Branham needs to walk, use a fork and hold a toothbrush again. Even if their health insurance covers 80 percent of the tab, the Branhams would still have to come up with about $30,000.
But Gaylon Branham said they'll make it work. Somehow.
"I want to see that smile on her face again," he said Tuesday.
As bad as it gets
Branham was about as critical as a hospital patient can get. Her kidneys, liver and other organs failed from bacterial poisoning - a condition known as Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome. She had to be given about 30 pints of blood because of internal bleeding. She was hooked to a ventilator to help her breathe; drugs kept her heart beating.
Several times, doctors warned Branham's family she might not make it through the night.
"I have never seen a case as bad as she had and the patient survive," said Dr. Bob Williams, who cared for Branham during her two-month stay at Huntsville Hospital, including 33 days in intensive care. "It's really just a miracle."
Williams said he had seen a handful of necrotizing fasciitis cases during his career and recognized it as soon as he saw Branham. He called orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Miller at home and told him Branham's bacteria-infested right arm had to be amputated - quickly.
Family members said the bacteria marched several inches up Branham's right arm in the hour or so before she was wheeled into surgery.
"What saved her life," Williams said, "was Dr. Miller coming in just as fast as he could. If there had been any delay, she wouldn't have survived."
Since no one in the family knew anything about flesh-eating bacteria, Branham's younger sister, Teresa Burgess, spent hours on the computer reading about the gruesome infection. She later wrote a detailed account of Branham's ordeal for the "Survivor's Stories" section of the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation Web site.
Burgess has also become an activist, e-mailing doctors around the country to be on the lookout for flesh-eating bacteria. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, confusion, intense thirst, swelling of the infected area and severe pain. About 20 percent of victims die.
"It's an awful thing," Burgess said, "and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
Recovering
Branham left the hospital in early May and moved back to the rural Asbury community where she grew up. She sleeps on a hospital bed in her parents' den, watches lots of TV and occasionally ventures out with family (but not to restaurants, where people tend to stare at her being fed).
Her medical-equipment needs are extreme, and extremely expensive. Four state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs, an electric wheelchair and handicap-accessible van could cost well over $200,000. That's on top of Branham's $470,000 hospital bill.
Insurance should cover most of it, but the couple's co-pay is sure to be a small fortune.
Sand Mountain residents rallied around the family by setting up a special account at an Albertville bank and holding benefit gospel singings.
Gaylon Branham said the couple ultimately needs a new house with wheelchair ramps and extra-wide doorways. His employer, Kirkpatrick Concrete, has offered to donate the materials for the foundation. A friend has tried to get ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" interested in doing the rest.
In the meantime, Lisa Branham is trying to stay positive while she waits for the tender skin on her legs to toughen up so she can try walking on prosthetics.
And she's adapting: On Monday, she used the stump of her left arm to click her way around the Internet for the first time since leaving the hospital.
"I just want to learn to walk and take care of myself again," Branham said. "That's the main thing."
But after reading this article, I don't think I'll whine for awhile.
'I just sit and cry'
Deadly infection costs cashier her arms and legs
Saturday, August 19, 2006
By STEVE DOYLE
Times Staff Writer steved@htimes.com
ALBERTVILLE - When Lisa Branham burned her thumb taking a pizza out of the oven and a blister formed, she popped it.
No big deal.
But that seemingly innocent act on March 3 nearly killed Branham when bacteria penetrated the wound and began devouring her flesh. The next day, the former Wal-Mart cashier from Marshall County was on an operating table at Huntsville Hospital having her right arm amputated at the elbow.
While the surgery stopped the rampaging bacteria, Branham later lost part of her other arm and both legs because the drugs that helped save her life reduced circulation to her extremities.
Still, Branham, 44, is lucky: Few survive such a serious bout with necrotizing fasciitis, or flesh-eating bacteria. The rare infection is usually caused by group A streptococcus bacteria, the type also responsible for strep throat and found on many people's skin.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, necrotizing fasciitis strikes about 600 Americans a year.
People with immune systems weakened by diabetes, cancer and other chronic illnesses are especially at risk if the bacteria enters their body. All it takes is a minor skin injury: paper cut; rug burn; pin prick; popped blister.
Branham's family thinks her immune system was compromised by the steroid shots she took for back pain.
Today, Branham's health is on the mend, but she is struggling to adjust to a life without hands or feet.
"I have my days where I just sit and cry," said Branham, who is living with her parents near Albertville because her wheelchair will not fit through the doors of her house trailer. "I thought I could handle it, but the last month has been rough. It's really just hit me, I guess."
Her husband Gaylon, a concrete truck driver, says he isn't sure how the couple will pay for the high-tech artificial limbs Branham needs to walk, use a fork and hold a toothbrush again. Even if their health insurance covers 80 percent of the tab, the Branhams would still have to come up with about $30,000.
But Gaylon Branham said they'll make it work. Somehow.
"I want to see that smile on her face again," he said Tuesday.
As bad as it gets
Branham was about as critical as a hospital patient can get. Her kidneys, liver and other organs failed from bacterial poisoning - a condition known as Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome. She had to be given about 30 pints of blood because of internal bleeding. She was hooked to a ventilator to help her breathe; drugs kept her heart beating.
Several times, doctors warned Branham's family she might not make it through the night.
"I have never seen a case as bad as she had and the patient survive," said Dr. Bob Williams, who cared for Branham during her two-month stay at Huntsville Hospital, including 33 days in intensive care. "It's really just a miracle."
Williams said he had seen a handful of necrotizing fasciitis cases during his career and recognized it as soon as he saw Branham. He called orthopedic surgeon Dr. Michael Miller at home and told him Branham's bacteria-infested right arm had to be amputated - quickly.
Family members said the bacteria marched several inches up Branham's right arm in the hour or so before she was wheeled into surgery.
"What saved her life," Williams said, "was Dr. Miller coming in just as fast as he could. If there had been any delay, she wouldn't have survived."
Since no one in the family knew anything about flesh-eating bacteria, Branham's younger sister, Teresa Burgess, spent hours on the computer reading about the gruesome infection. She later wrote a detailed account of Branham's ordeal for the "Survivor's Stories" section of the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation Web site.
Burgess has also become an activist, e-mailing doctors around the country to be on the lookout for flesh-eating bacteria. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, confusion, intense thirst, swelling of the infected area and severe pain. About 20 percent of victims die.
"It's an awful thing," Burgess said, "and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."
Recovering
Branham left the hospital in early May and moved back to the rural Asbury community where she grew up. She sleeps on a hospital bed in her parents' den, watches lots of TV and occasionally ventures out with family (but not to restaurants, where people tend to stare at her being fed).
Her medical-equipment needs are extreme, and extremely expensive. Four state-of-the-art prosthetic limbs, an electric wheelchair and handicap-accessible van could cost well over $200,000. That's on top of Branham's $470,000 hospital bill.
Insurance should cover most of it, but the couple's co-pay is sure to be a small fortune.
Sand Mountain residents rallied around the family by setting up a special account at an Albertville bank and holding benefit gospel singings.
Gaylon Branham said the couple ultimately needs a new house with wheelchair ramps and extra-wide doorways. His employer, Kirkpatrick Concrete, has offered to donate the materials for the foundation. A friend has tried to get ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" interested in doing the rest.
In the meantime, Lisa Branham is trying to stay positive while she waits for the tender skin on her legs to toughen up so she can try walking on prosthetics.
And she's adapting: On Monday, she used the stump of her left arm to click her way around the Internet for the first time since leaving the hospital.
"I just want to learn to walk and take care of myself again," Branham said. "That's the main thing."
