NF Survivor - Tyler Dobbs

Tyler Dobbs' Survivor Story

Hi, I was just looking at some survivor stories as I am a survivor of necrotizing fasciitis this year. I'm a 26 year old male who was at my best friends bachelor party. I cut my knee on a rock in some water and woke up two days later with a swollen leg and couldn't bend it. I thought it was either swollen from banging my knee or I was starting to get an infection. I was with nine other guys and decided I would just go to the hospital when we got home which was 12 hours away in Canada as we were in Wisconsin. With about six hours left to get home I turned violently ill. Went immediately to the hospital when we got home and was admitted immediately. I was diagnosed within the hour and had the tissue from the top of my thigh down to my ankle debrided immediately. The level of care I received at the hospital where I lived which is in a town of 75,000 people was amazing. I was then air lifted by helicopter to hamilton where I was having multiple system failures, on breathing tubes, blood dialysis and a in a drug induced coma for 9 days. Just when they thought I was getting better they found it on the other side of my thigh going up my side. I was rushed into surgery and they removed another section of skin. I was finally out of the coma and spent the next 4 weeks in the burn unit where I was treated with vac dressings and then skin graphs. It took me about 4 months to fully heal and I am now back at work full time and doing everything the same as I used to. I just thought I would share my story with you and if you wanted a better detailed story I could tell you.

Tyler Dobbs
dobbsy9@hotmail.com

December 2009

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