My Friday night glass of wine triggered hideous bug that ravaged my body leaving me oozing pus from my groin to my foot
Susan Sztybel had opened her kitchen cupboard to grab two wine glasses for her and her partner David Farmer, 69, when one fell out and smashed on the floor.
7
7
7
In the process, the 67-year-old said a shard of glass caught her right foot leaving a small one-inch cut in her skin on March 28.
After the mum-of-three put plasters over the scratch, she went to bed and thought nothing more of it.
But 24 hours later, Susan says she began to feel feverish as her cut began to bleed and ooze pus, so she went to Alexandra Hospital in Redditch to have it checked out.
The carer was then transferred to a specialist team at Worcester Royal Hospital to be treated for sepsis, strep A, and cellulitis - which developed into a flesh-eating bacteria.
By this point, Susan claims the infection had crept up her right leg into her groin and was told by doctors her chance of survival was low.
She then underwent debridement surgeries to scrape as much of the "flesh-eating bug" out of her foot and was then put on a vac machine to suck the infection out of her skin.
Due to the medication and the severity of her illness, the support worker claims she saw the "pearly gates" in hospital and feared she would die.
Thankfully, doctors were able to save her life and foot and after more than a month in hospital, she is recovering at her partner's house.
Susan is now keen to raise awareness about what happened to her to show how one small cut from a piece of glass almost cost her her life.
Susan, from Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire, said: "On Friday night I got home and I opened the cupboard and this glass fell out and smashed.
"I was just going to have a glass of wine with my partner to celebrate the weekend coming in.
"It was a wine glass that smashed. My partner cleaned up the glass and I wiped my one-inch cut on my foot [from the glass] and put a plaster on it and thought no more of it.
"[On Saturday], I carried on with my shift at work as a living carer. I knew I had done something to my ankle at this point as it was a bit sore.
"24 hours later I felt a little bit sick and hot and then within a couple of hours I was feeling sick and was sweating and felt really poorly.
"I didn't realise the seriousness at this point. I thought I just had a bug and I never imagined it was to do with my cut.
"Someone took over my shift and at this point I was feeling very faint and my cut was oozing.
I didn't realise the seriousness at this point. I thought I just had a bug and I never imagined it was to do with my cut
Susan Sztybel
"It was oozing and there was lots of clear blood and puss. My foot felt like it was pulsating.
"Within 48 hours the infection had crept up my leg into my groin and this is when they said doctors would have to operate and they didn't know if I was going to survive.
"All I kept saying was please save me. I didn't care if I lost my leg.
"They say you see the pearly gates. In the next few days, I saw those pearly gates. I was hallucinating.
"It was a flesh-eating bug which was ravaging through my skin and leg and I was fighting to keep alive.
"I had to lay down with my leg higher than my heart for 23 hours a day and was only allowed to sit up to eat."
It was a flesh-eating bug which was ravaging through my skin and leg and I was fighting to keep alive
Susan Sztybel
After more than a month in hospital, Susan was transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where she underwent plastic surgery on her foot on May 5th.
While she has been told her foot may never look the same again, doctors have said she will not suffer any long-term effects from the infection.
Susan said: "In the early days, I was told by a doctor that they couldn't believe I had survived so far as my infection marker was so high and I was very poorly.
"Your infection marker should be at five and mine was 500 and you shouldn't survive with this.
"I kept praying and hoping and I'm here to tell the tale. I defeated the odds.
"They kept digging away at my ankle and had taken so much out I needed plastic surgery.
7
7
7
7
"They took skin from my thigh which is the donor site and put this on my ankle."
The grandma-of-eight is now urging people to get their cuts checked out straight away if they believe them to be infected.
Susan said: "A tiny, little one-inch cut that was clear and only needed a plaster on it turned into something so massive.
"If this saves other people going through what I've gone through and saves their limbs and their lives, it's worth it.
"I would tell people to act straight away [if they are concerned about a cut]. I didn't because I didn't think it was anything to worry about at first."
Necrotising fasciitis
Necrotising fasciitis, also known as the "flesh-eating disease", is a rare and life-threatening infection that can happen if a wound gets infected.
It needs to be treated in hospital straight away.
Symptoms can develop quickly within hours or a few days.
At first, a person may have:
intense pain or loss of feeling near to a cut or wound – the pain may seem much worse than you would usually expect from a cut or wound
swelling of the skin around the affected area
flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, headache and tiredness
Later symptoms can include:
being sick (vomiting) and diarrhoea
confusion
black, purple or grey blotches and blisters on the skin (these may be less obvious on black or brown skin)
Call 999 or go to A&E if:
you have a cut or wound that is much more painful than you would expect
you have a cut or wound and get symptoms like a high temperature, headache, tiredness and muscle aches
you have sudden confusion
you have black, purple or grey blotches or blisters near a cut or wound
Don't drive to A&E. Ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance.
Source: NHS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Mum 'gave her vulnerable son ketamine even as it risked his life'
A vulnerable teenager whose ketamine addiction has left him with life-threatening health problems was allegedly given the drug by his own mother, a court has heard. The "frail and emaciated" 18-year-old, from Lancashire, has had stents fitted to relieve pressure on his kidneys, a side-effect of bladder problems caused by abusing ketamine since he was man, referred to in court as GWS, has only spent 33 days out of hospital since December due to ketamine-related complications. After he asked to leave hospital despite a "clear risk of death", the Court of Protection ruled last week that he lacked the capacity to make decisions about his own medical care. Generation K: The disturbing rise of ketamine abuse among young peopleKetamine bladder: Special clinics as youth addiction 'explodes' The court heard GWS was taken to A&E in June severely malnourished and with a suspected gastrointestinal bleed and infection. An NHS trust successfully obtained a deprivation of liberty also asked the Court of Protection to rule that the teenager lacked capacity to make decisions about his medical care. The trust urged the court to prevent GWS from discharging himself before a "long-overdue" procedure to replace the kidney stents, which must happen every six to nine months to prevent life-threatening blockages. It also highlighted that GWS had no suitable accommodation lined up since a supported living provider said it could not manage his health court heard that, as a result, he was at real risk of living on the streets while in a dangerously frail condition. GWS also had diagnoses of ADHD and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as traits of factors were also raised as concerns about his mental capacity. When asked to give evidence, doctors said that if GWS self-discharged, "there [would be] a real risk he would die".Sophia Roper KC, representing the NHS trust, told the court GWS's ability to make rational decisions was impaired by a "perfect storm" of poor mental and physical health, chronic addiction to ketamine and childhood trauma. In her ruling published last week, Mrs Justice Theis DBE, Vice President of the Court of Protection, said she agreed with Ms Roper that the evidence showed GWS was "not using and weighing up the relevant information about treatment". The judge said she agreed that GWS had "no real grasp of reality of what it would be like if he walked out".The court heard GWS had suggested he could return to live with his mother, but Mrs Justice Theis said this was "wholly unrealistic". She wrote: "His history reveals his mother had chronic mental health difficulties and alcohol abuse, as a consequence she struggled to impose any boundaries or provide consistent care from when GWS was six months old. "More recently she has been accused of providing GWS with ketamine."The court also heard GWS had likely been exploited to move drugs by his dealers. 'Extraordinarily difficult background' Government figures estimate ketamine use in England and Wales has more than doubled since GWS, the damage caused by the drug became clear in 2023 when he suffered symptoms including blood in his urine. He was diagnosed with a ketamine bladder syndrome, where the bladder thickens and has very little capacity. In 2024 his condition worsened and he was further diagnosed with bilateral hydronephrosis - dilation of both kidneys due to obstruction caused by the thickened bladder. It necessitated the insertion of the stents to prevent kidney have to be replaced about twice a year under general anaesthetic. The court heard GWS's health worsened as he continued to take Justice Theis wrote that despite his "extraordinarily difficult background" GWS was "polite and considerate" and remained "optimistic" about living said she hoped the stent procedure would take place as soon as possible and that suitable accommodation could be offered soon so "he can start taking the steps towards achieving the independence he so clearly wants". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Concerns of nurse shortages after woman dies of sepsis in Norfolk
A coroner has raised concerns over the impact of district nurse staff shortages on appointments after a woman died of sepsis. Susan Clissold, 72, required district nurses to attend weekly to dress an infected burn and a pressure a prevention of future deaths report, area coroner for Norfolk, Jacqueline Lake, said that on several occasions there was not sufficient staff for Mrs Clissold to receive a visit from a district Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, said: "We'd like to express our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Mrs Clissold. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide comment further to the information that is detailed in the report." Mrs Clissold was registered blind and had multiple sclerosis and had carers visit four times a day. She had a pressure sore which required visits from district nurses. On 29 April 2024, Mrs Clissold scalded her leg with hot coffee and the burn required regular dressing. Hospital admission On 15 May, Mrs Clissold was admitted to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with a temperature, low blood pressure and symptoms of infection and was treated with IV antibiotics and fluids. While at first her condition improved, she deteriorated to the point where a referral for palliative care was made on the 31 May and she died on the 9 June. In a prevention of future deaths report, Ms Lake found while district nurses were required to attend to the 72-year-old on a weekly basis, on several occasions they did not appear due to not having sufficient members of the team available. Evidence heard that individual cases are becoming more complex involving greater input from the community nursing team and a greater number of patients needing report said the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust had taken steps to try and ensure there was sufficient staff to attend to patients in the community, including relocating staff and prioritising patients. However, evidence heard staff were not able to attend every appointment as required. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Loneliness: The groups combating social isolation in later life
"I just love it!" laughs Lorraine Le Sueur, 79. She is talking about her seated exercise class in Berkshire, adding: "I've never missed one."She is one of hundreds of older people who attend weekly fitness sessions for retirees, run by Get Berkshire Active. Research published this week revealed a sharp rise in the number of older people dying in poverty, isolation or without family who can afford funeral South looked into what is being done in our communities to try and stop people becoming lonely in later life and found an army of charities and volunteers running lunch clubs, befriending services and organising outings for people aged over 60. It was Ms Le Sueur's daughter who first suggested she join a social club, telling her "it could change your life".She agreed to go along to the Older Person's Activity group at the Milestone Centre in Caversham just to see what it was like, as long as her sister went with her. That was more than two years ago and she has been every week enjoys the crafts, bingo, a cooked lunch and giggles her way through the seated exercise session. "I know I make a mess of it sometimes, but it doesn't matter, because as long as you do your exercises, that's the main thing," she said. Kate Wiggins, who runs the exercise sessions, said Get Berkshire Active was trying to reach out to everyone in later life."We want to use physical activity to transform people's lives and use that power of movement to help people feel better and combat social isolation. "We just need to get the word out there," she added. 'Reluctant men' Desi Sterritt, 86, refuses to let his Parkinson's disease stop him from exercising with the rest of the has been living with his daughter since his wife passed away and said the classes "help the loneliness". He added: "When you get old, if you lose your partner, it can get lonely, but life moves on and you have to move with it."It's something to look forward to."Desi is one of only two men in the class and Lorraine has tried and failed to get her husband to join, because he's a "very lovely" but "quiet" social groups across the region say encouraging men to join is a constant struggle. The charity MHA, which runs activities across Hampshire, says men often opt to have home visits from "befrienders" instead. Ron Champion, 95, had regular visits from family but also looked forward to befriending visits from MHA's Sarah Maidment. He had no children and lived alone in Andover after his wife Gladys passed said: "Sixty-five years we were married, obviously you're going to miss 'em quite a lot. "It's a blank space I suppose really, when you're on your own."The loneliness part of it, it's tricky. I can imagine some people just don't cope."It's something that you need, to feel somebody's company."Ron has since passed away and his family gave the BBC permission to use his interview as a memorial to was laid to rest beside his beloved wife Gladys. Ms Maidment said it was particularly hard to encourage widowed men to socialise."If they've lost their wives, there's no-one there to drag the men out and I think there is a danger of men sitting at home and not going out, not going to get their shopping, not even nipping outside the front door...," she said "We have people for example who live a street away and they're both completely lonely and isolated and haven't met each other, so we identify that as an issue and maybe put on a club in that area."There's so much of the world out there still left to enjoy." In Caversham, the only other man in the seated exercise class, Roger Pett, 79, said he tries to persuade people to come with him."I tell friends it's easy, a bit of a laugh and you can have a chat."He then jokes about his own reasons for joining up."These things are called 'grab a granny'," he laughs, "so I had to come didn't I?" You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
