A mum was warned that she was close to death after she developed a flesh-eating disease while giving birth.
Charleigh Boyne, a dance teacher, had a normal delivery with her first child in April last year.
But six days after taking newborn daughter Alessia home the 28-year-old developed a painful rash on her stomach and was struggling to stay awake.
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Husband Liam, 28, rushed her to hospital where a CT scan revealed she had necrotising fasciitis (NF) and it was ‘eating away her abdomen’.
According to the NHS, this ‘flesh-eating disease’ is a rare, life-threatening infection that can happen if a wound becomes infected.
It needs to be treated in hospital straight away and Charleigh was warned by doctors that if they didn’t operate to remove the dead flesh, she would die.
Following a six-hour op, the mum was put into an induced coma for two days. Luckily she survived.
“I went into labour with my daughter and it was pretty standard,” Charleigh, from Manningtree, Essex, told Need To Know.
“I went home and about six days later I fell ill. I had a welted rash on my stomach. It looked like a burn.
“The rash was painful and I kept getting rigor shivers where my bones just felt like they were going to crumble.
“I just wanted to sleep. My husband was terrified.
“I went back to hospital and a CT scan showed I had NF and it was eating away my abdomen.
“The doctors came quickly and said I needed emergency surgery or I was going to die.
“It was the weirdest moment of my life. It was like in a film where someone gets big news and everything goes muffled. It was an out-of-body experience.
“They cut me open and removed everything that was dead.
“When I woke up, I was told it was two days later and that I was going to be ok.”
Charleigh suffers from PTSD and has been left with a five-inch scar, which she says has made her struggle to look at herself in the mirror.
She said: “I’m better physically, but I’m still in the process of healing. I have a callus scar and I have PTSD.
“The scar really affects my confidence. I struggle to look in the mirror.
“I don’t wear clothes where I have my stomach out but in some outfits you can see it because it’s a dent.”
But she says her daughter is thriving and the illness hasn’t put her off having another child.
She said: “Alessia is perfect. She’s loving life. She’s a happy little bean. We would love to have more children, but I will be very wary.”
Charleigh has set up a GoFundMe to raise money for the Lee Spark NF Foundation and Colchester Hospital, Essex, who she thanks for saving her life.
She added: “I’m walking a half marathon for Lee Spark who helped me come to terms with what happened and for Colchester Hospital who saved my life.
“It’s important to raise awareness. Most people have no idea what NF is.
“As much as it’s rare, it’s still a possibility and it can’t be diagnosed if people don’t know what it is.
“When it comes, it comes quickly. You can get it from a cold or an open wound.”
To donate, go to NF & Me: Raising Funds for Necrotising Fasciitis research.
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