My sister survived flesh eating disease in 1985. She was 23 at the time. After reading stories on flesh-eating disease, I realize my sister was very fortunate to have survived and that many are less fortunate. I also realize how strong she was in fighting the infection and how fortunate it was that the doctors were able to recognize and treat the infection so quickly, this type of infection gets passed over a lot of times. Especially back in 1985 when flesh-eating disease was rarely heard of. She had a very painful red mark on her arm and had been feeling sick for a couple of days. She went to the hospital and her arm became even more infected. No matter what antibiotics were used or how they were administered, nothing made the infection stop. They removed the flesh of her arm, mostly in the middle and extending all the way to her wrist and up her arm too. She became extremely swollen all over her body while fighting the infection due to edema and shock. She was in the hospital like this for at least two weeks maybe more and it was extremely painful.

She did fight off the infection and survive but she did not come out unscathed - as a result of all the swelling or possibly as a result of a secondary infection, she suffered serious damage to her retina, cornea possibly a detached retina or blindness due to a secondary infection or broken blood vessels in her eyes. She was legally blind from the point of leaving the hospital onward with very limited peripheral vision in one eye and almost complete loss in the other. Over the years after the infection, she had grafting operations for her arm and finally they were able to close the wound but she had to live with a horrible scar the length of her entire arm. She also suffered from glaucoma and cateracts and had to have many eye operations.

At that time, there were no resources available on flesh-eating infection. We didn't even know what to call it. I wish there had been. My sister was very brave and tough, that's because we were raised with our horses and my dad always taught us how to 'get back on'.

She fought the infection off but her life was never the same. After 10 years her life ended in 1995 at the age of 33. She was still very terrified of the experience she had had in the hospital with the infection. The experience haunted her and scared her the rest of her life. But even if she had come to terms with that part, she still had lost her sight so she was up against a lot. Hopefully people can learn from these experiences and open up about their experiences to make it easier for each other so they can maybe move on and still live life after. I wish my sister had never had this infection or ever came into contact with whatever caused it and I plan to keep reading about flesh-eating disease and hope the causes can be pinpointed more exactly.

She was a very rare person with a rare sense of humor who is sadly missed. Prior to having flesh-eating infection, she was a free spirit who was always on the move, she was not around that much because she was busy with her young life and making her friends laugh. At an early age she was a horse owner and a horse lover, she rode competitive barrel racing and belonged to the saddle clubs with her beloved anglo-arab Saran, she was also a hockey player and played through bantam and she could tell jokes from day one.

After the infection at age 23, she never rode again, drove a car, or did too much of anything. She kept other people going and made them laugh but she could have been much more and everyone around her could have done much more to help her and support her. She deserved a chance like everyone else to prove herself and be something and she never got that chance. I pray for my sisters peace in heaven and I know god is taking care of her now and making sure she is surrounded by things she loves.