I contracted necrotizing fasciitis while in Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax Virginia for a hysterectomy for uterine cancer in August 1988. I was not released from the hospital until months later (Dr Hans B. Krebs was the attending physican). He did not really want me to go home but after coming "back"; I wanted out bad. I was under nurses help daily at home; and at least 1 visit to the doctors a week; and daily hydrotherpy forever it seemed; 5 months after I came home my husband died of a massive heart attack. I was unable to work until the first part on 1990.
 
I had surgery daily (sometimes twice a day) to have the area debrided; when I went home the nurses did it and the hydrotherpist dressed the wound after treatment.  I told the Dr that I had a pain in my left hip and no cause could be found; in 1999 I had remarried and had a problem where all of a sudden I could not stand on that leg; after a few days they put a needle into my hip joint and guess what necrotizing fasciitis was back; they scrapped the joint and put me on antibiotics for months; after about 18 months I needed a hip replacement (before the replacement I saw a Dr Zang (Nancy or Cindy I cannot remember) about the pain she was/is a  graduate of John Hopkins and she informed me that necrotizing fasciitis can be contracted by an an autoclave (spelling don't count) that sterlizes equiptment; that the strep can live there; bleach could have killed it). Mount Vernon Hospital, Dr Stuart Davidson did the hip replacement; they put antibiotics in while doing the surgery.
 
Guess what.......I had to have the hip removed about 18 months later (I was told by Dr Davidson and my husband that I died just after the surgery while in recovery) I again was put on antibiotics again; now I am allergic to most antibiotics; I have had MERSA and VERSA. I am now in PT again as my good leg is acting up; I am told that any further surgery I probably will not make it.
 
I was forced in retirement; I am in a wheelchair and will be in one till I die. A lot of things medically have happen to me, I have had cancer again. I the back of all my thoughts is what will the necrotizing fasciitis do to me again?  Considering all; 90% of the time I get us singing every morning; my husband does not like the "noise" but I keep going.
 
My heart goes out to any one that has been through what this can do the body, mind and soul.