Warning, thread has graphic images,
Six months ago, I had a sore ankle. Being a guy, I decided to tough it out.
That was a big mistake
After a week I decided to see a GP, they described antibiotics.
Three days later I woke to see a mess in my bed and my lower leg covered in black sores. OK, NOW it is time to go to emergency
Diagnosis; Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating disease)
I had somehow cut my foot and let in a nasty bug, which was eating my leg muscles away from the inside
Three hours later I am in surgery. Afterwards, half of the skin on my lower leg was gone, and some muscle
My leg was bandaged with a plastic bandage, the tube is sucking out the crap from my leg
This is what I woke to;
I spent two weeks having the wound cleaned up, then I was shipped from my home city to a larger hospital, as that is the place to get reconstructive surgery done. A week of getting assessed there then off for more surgery
The wound will be covered by a skin flap and skin grafts
A skin flap is a piece of skin and muscle taken from another part of the body
A skin graft is a thin layer of skin scrapped from a third site
What my leg looked like after 11 hours surgery;
(the frame stayed on for three weeks)
What you are seeing is the untouched foot, skin flap, skin graft, and untouched rest of me
20% mortality rate
I am alive, I have my leg
it is now 6 months later, I have been back at work for a while, the leg has healed well, but still looks terrible.
I have some great scars and a good story