Sadly, my Mom beat the NF bacteria but due to the stress, she suffered a heart attack and died. Mom had all the symptoms of NF, yet it took 7 days in the hospital before it was diagnosed. She was very weak, was nauseous, a high fever, vomiting and elevated white blood cell count. She also had a small cut in her upper groin area that gave off a putrid odor which I constantly told the nurses and doctors. Day 1 they thought she had a heart attack, Day 2 Crohn's disease, Day 3 Colon Cancer, Day 4 vulvar abscess - in which she had surgery on Day 5. Day 6 she continued to be confused (not normal for mom) and was in pain. Day 7 with severe pain they took her in for emergency surgery where she was diagnosed with NF.

What upset me most was that on the morning she was to have surgery for a vulvar abscess and a colonoscopy to rule out colon cancer, I went to be with her at 9:00 am and discovered she was sitting in a pool or diarrhea and was in distress. I called the nurses and when they turned her over to clean her I was in shock at what I saw. The small cut (which was about the size of 1 centimeter) had grown overnight to a horrific sight. It was large enough that I would have been able to put two full fists through it. It made me gag and get sick to my stomach.

Poor Mom didn't even know what was happening to her. I had researched what a vulvar abscess was and surely this was NOT what she had. I questioned the young doctor and asked the nurses if she could go into surgery immediately. They checked the schedule and Mom could not go into surgery until 4:00 which got delayed to 7:00. Instead they continued with the colonoscopy and results were negative. Mom was in a lot of pain and was very confused. I held her hand all day until they finally took her away for surgery to 'drain the infection'. Drain the infection??? It was draining on it's own and I knew something was not right. I asked if he ever saw a vulvar abscess so deep and large where the skin disappeared. The OBGYN doctor assured me that he sees this type of thing all the time. Mom came out of surgery and I was told everything went well, but they had to dig and pack the wound about 7 centimeters deep. I saw the packed dressing and again was horrified.

Friday, I sat with Mom all day...she slept most of the day and was still in pain. By Saturday morning a different doctor, a general surgeon, called and said they were bringing mom in for emergency surgery. He told me she had NF. I got the feeling the doctor was upset that no one contacted him sooner regarding the rapid opening. Anyway, Mom survived NF, although she had lost most of her upper thigh. The plastic surgeon was optimistic that in the next couple of weeks he could perform plastic surgery.

Mom was in a drug induced coma for 2 weeks due to the pain of the 2-3 times per day dressing changes. She was given a colostomy bag to keep the wound clean and a Trach to assist in breathing at night, Everything was moving in the right direction and Mom was weaned off the sedative medications. Although she still had the Trach we were able to communicate. She couldn't believe what had happened. I was careful not to tell her how much of her leg was lost and that she would need plastic surgery. Finally, she was back to her happy self despite the terrible disease she had suffered. For 4 days everything was going well and she was progressing. They even spoke about moving her out of ICU (she was there one month to the day she died).

With everything Mom fought through, I never expected the phone call I received at 7:00 am. The doctor told me that Mom had a blood clot that got to her lungs and stopped her heart. We had an autopsy done and it was determined that she actually had a heart attack. Mom was a trooper and a very strong and determined women. The doctors were amazed that she survived NF. She was a great, fun, loving person and had so much more loving to give. She had such a love of life and she shared that love with those she came in contact with. I am angry that it took so long to diagnose and feel that she was a guinea pig for the young doctors all trying to figure out what was wrong with her. I miss her so much....she was my best friend, my teacher, and the most supportive mom anyone could ask for. I am thankful that we told each other everyday that we loved each other.