A 12-year-old Indiana girl is lucky to be alive after she contracted a life-threatening flesh-eating disease while swimming at a beach in Florida.
Kylei Brown and her family were having a nice vacation in Destin, Florida when toward the end of their time, Kylei began complaining about pain in her leg. By the time Kylei's family returned to their home in Indiana, the 12-year-old girl's leg had swollen and she was running a fever.
Kylei's mom, Michelle, called a doctor to set up an appointment, but he urged her to immediately take her daughter to the emergency room - and it was lucky she did, Michelle told Fox 59.
"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,” Michelle said. "I knew something was wrong."
Doctors initially believed Kylei had suffered a blot clot in her leg, but after some tests, they determined that Kylei had actually contracted Necrotizing Fasciitis and needed emergency surgery to remove the infection.
"The emergency surgery was to hopefully save her leg, but more importantly, to save her life," Michelle said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Necrotizing Fasciitis is a rare bacterial infection that can spread quickly through the body and cause death in 1 out of every 3 cases. The survivability goes up if a patient receives immediate medical treatment. The bacteria is usually introduced by water getting into open wounds. According to Kylei's mom, her daughter had stuck her toes in the water, just a few days after scuffing her toe on a skateboard.
"It started from a scuff on her toe, a scrape on her toe, and it almost cost her her life," Brown said.
Fortunately, Kylei has returned home, but still has a needle in her arm for antibiotics and her leg is wrapped. She's also started therapy to help her walk again.
"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 Brown said.