A YOUNG girl who fell off her bike has lost her leg after being diagnosed with a flesh-eating bug.
Stella Barnhart was riding her bike downhill during a family camping trip. She also skidded on rocks.
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The 11-year-old from North Carolina, US was taken straight to A&E and was given a few stitches on her left leg.
Amy Barnhart (41), her worried mother, rushed her daughter back to the hospital 3 days later after her leg became completely paralysed.
From there, Stella was airlifted to Egleston Children’s Hospital, Atlanta, where she was diagnosed with necrotising fasciitis – a flesh eating bug that affects muscles beneath the skin – often leading to life-changing consequences.
Surgeons spent six hours trying to save Stella’s leg, but with the bacteria spreading at an alarming rate, they had to go ahead and amputate from the hip down.
Stella said that after the accident she had her leg stitched up and that the day after she was in pain and there were ‘purple streaks on her leg’.
She said: “We went to a different ER, and they said it was just a reaction to the stitches and that I should be ok.”
Six hours later, Stella could no longer feel her left leg and was rushed back to hospital.
It was then that mum Amy started to worry and said the situation ‘didn’t seem real’.
Amy said: “My mind just kept trying to catch up with what was happening, there was so much going on and so much to learn medically about the situation.
“She was sick for quite a while, it turned into a process of just making it through one night at a time. Getting past one problem and dealing with the next one.”
Stella added: “I was put in a medically induced coma a week when I lost my leg, so I was quite confused when I woke up and just wanted to go back to sleep.”
After waking up, Stella needed to have 20 more surgical procedures in order to tacke the remaining bacteria.
Her wound was sealed with skin and muscle from her hip.
Amy stated that it took nearly a month for medics to clean her leg and remove the bacteria.
What is necrotising fasciitis, you ask?
NECROTISING faciitis is a rare, but severe, bacterial infection that affects the tissue underneath the skin, surrounding muscles and other organs.
It’s often referred to as a “flesh-eating” disease, though the bacteria don’t eat the flesh.
They release toxins that can damage nearby tissues.
Although it can be a minor injury such as a cut or scrape, the condition can quickly progress to more serious and severe forms.
The condition can quickly become serious if it is not treated promptly.
Symptoms can develop quickly, and early signs include:
- a small but painful cut or scratch on the skin
- intense pain that’s put of proportion to the damage on the skin
- a high temperature, or fever – similar to flu
After a few days, it’s likely you’ll notice:
- swelling or redness in the area, which will often feel firm to touch
- diarrhoea and vomiting
- dark patches on the skin that turn into fluid-filled blisters
Necrotising fasciitis is a medical emergency that can spread very quickly. If you suspect that you have it, call 999 immediately.
She said: “They had to keep the wound open the entire time until they were sure the bacteria was cleared. “If they had closed the wound up too early, the bacteria would have spread like wildfire through her body and that doesn’t really bear thinking about.”
Stella was taken to hospital on October 15 2020 and weeks after being admitted – she was released on December 23.
Mum Amy said her daughter’s rehabilitation took a while due to the extra procedures and physiotherapy sessions to help Stella walk again.
She said: “Although there were Covid restrictions in place, her grandma, Jean, 76, and I were able to stay at the hospital to keep her company and watch her progress.
“She was out of the wheelchair so quickly and it was pretty amazing how much she accomplished with being able to hop around with her crutches.”
Stella was fitted to a prosthetic, which attaches at her hip. She prefers to use the crutches to get around.
When she returned from work, her friends were arguing over who could push her in her wheelchair.
Stella added: “It was great being able to race everyone everywhere in my chair, I even did it with my mum down the hospital corridors.
“My older brother, Seven, even asked if he could try on my prosthetic and I had to tell him no, because he has two legs already.”
‘SO PROUD’
Now almost a year after the incident, Stella continues to challenge herself, climbing trees and hiking with her family.
She adds: “I’m still learning how to use my prosthetic leg, but the rest of the time I’m just like any normal kid, and I do things that all kids do.
“I really want to learn how to ride my bike again.
“When I’m older, I want to be someone in the medical field because it’s something that really interests me and it’s incredible what doctors can do.”
Mum Amy said she’s ‘so proud’ of how far her daughter has come.
She adds: “It’s amazing how much she can do and not just let it stop her or get her down. She’s fearless and does everything she wants to. It’s pretty incredible.”
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