12-year-old Kylei Parker developed a life-threatening flesh-eating disease after swimming at a Florida beach.
The girl and her family went on a vacation to Destin, Florida and before their trip ended, Kylei began to feel pain in her leg.
When they returned to Indiana, her affected leg had already swollen and she had a high fever.
Her mother, Michelle Brown, first called their doctor for an appointment. He then urged them to go to the emergency room right away.
Speaking about the horrifying experience, Michelle told Fox59: “When they told me we needed to go home and pack bags and get to Riley [Hospital for Children, in Indianapolis], my anxiety went from 0 to 110. I knew something was wrong.”
Doctors thought Kylei had a blood clot. However, “her blood pressure was just continuously dropping,” Michelle expressed. “It was rough.”
Kyle was then diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, the decaying of soft tissue. This condition occurs when bacteria enter the body and attacks the tissue and skin. The bacteria had likely come from the beach in Florida and penetrated through a scrape on her toe.
The 12-year-old was rushed into emergency surgery to stop the infection.
Michelle continued: “The emergency surgery was to hopefully save her leg, but more importantly to save her life.
“If it wasn’t for their quick responses and aggressive treatments, we wouldn’t have her … It’s hard for me to think about if I had waited one more day, or even a couple more hours. We’re just very fortunate.”
Kylei is now recovering but her leg is still wrapped in bandages and she has an IV port in her arm.
“I’ve told my mom multiple times that I just want to be normal again, with my leg,” Kylei expressed.
The family is now warning others to be wary about letting children swim in open water with scrapes and cuts.
“It’s just so hard seeing friends and family on the beach and having fun, because we were there doing the same thing and I almost lost her,” Michelle said.
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