Woman lost half her bum and privates after eating meal on date
A mum was told she 'might die' after ending up with a flesh-eating bug that ate away at her bum and private parts.
Lacey Pepper, 47, first noticed something was wrong when she began to feel unwell and achy while driving home from a work trip, but put it down to the long journey.
However, within four days things had worsened, and she had developed a fever, began throwing up and could barely walk.
She said: "We got home and I don't think I moved, I started running a fever and [had] the shakes.
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"I went to go for a bath, my daughter looked at me and said 'what is wrong with your leg?'"
Seeing her leg was 'really red with a bunch of little spots', Lacey initially dismissed it as a boil, but the next day she was unable to walk.
She said: "It hurt so bad. I would not wish that pain on anyone."
She visited her doctor, who told her to go to hospital, where she was told to immediately go to the emergency department.
She fell unconscious for three days and her family were told she had contracted the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis and warned there was a high chance she wouldn’t survive.
"I don't remember anything"
Lacey had to be rushed into surgery to remove the dead flesh from her left leg, crotch and backside.
This resulted in her losing around 25 percent of her left buttock, 50 percent of the left side of her intimate area and 25 percent of her upper thigh.
Lacey, from Brookhaven in Mississippi, said: "I remember going to get a CT scan and I don't remember anything after that.
"I've been told that the doctor said it wasn't looking good [and that] I might not live. I might lose my leg and I might die.
"They did surgery on me and told my sister I had a flesh-eating bacteria and I had to be flown to another hospital."
Over the next two months, Lacey underwent a further 17 operations to try and rebuild the skin on her leg and even had to learn how to walk again.
She ate fried shrimp a week before while on a date night with her partner and thinks it could be to blame.
"I get frustrated all the time"
A year after the incident, she said in a Facebook post she was left with 'bad depression, terrible anxiety, sugar problems, nerve pain and having to accept the fact that I may never walk on my own again'.
She added: "I get frustrated all the time. I can’t stand long to do dishes or laundry. I can’t sweep and mop. I can’t bend over to pick anything up if I drop it. It really sucks, but I’m forever grateful to be here."
Two years on from the experience, Lacey is speaking out to raise awareness of the flesh-eating bug and urging anyone who has symptoms similar to hers to get them checked out.
The potentially fatal bacteria can be contracted via minor cuts, insect bites or even raw or undercooked seafood.
Lacey said she didn’t have any cuts or bites at the time and suspects that the shrimp meal could have been the cause.
She said: "I remember when they told me thinking 'where did I get this from?' I don't get in water. I don't even swim.
"I have no idea where I got it from. The doctors don't know. I didn't have any cuts on my body.
"I ate some shrimp while I was in Maryland with my boyfriend a week before I fell ill.
"You can get necrotising fasciitis from shellfish, but it could've been from anything.
"I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I'm very particular about everything I do now.
"I've been left with a big scar and I'm still living with the after effects. I use a cane to walk with.
"If you get a boil, or anything you're concerned about, just go to the doctors."
What are the symptoms of necrotising fasciitis?
According to the NHS, symptoms of the infection 'can develop quickly within hours or over a few days'.
At first, you may experience:
- An intense pain or loss of feeling
- Swelling and redness of the skin around the area
- Flu-like symptoms, such as fatigue, a high temperature and headache
Later symptoms may include:
- Being sick and diarrhoea
- Confusion
- Blisters or black, purple or grey blotches on the skin
Claire Reid