A Douglas County high school senior is home from the hospital after beating necrotizing fasciitis—also known as flesh-eating bacteria. Krysten Rowe and her mom tell FOX 5 doctors have said she will live a normal life, but she's still susceptible to future infections.
About a month ago, Krysten says she fell down stairs while she was at a friend's house. She suffered a major gash in her right leg, and by the time she got home, it was much worse. When she couldn't put pressure on her leg, her mom immediately rushed her to the hospital.
Doctors transferred Krysten from Douglas County Memorial Hospital to Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Atlanta. Three days later, she and her mom got shocking news.
"The doctor stood at the end of the bed and asked Krysten, ‘How does it feel to have the flesh eating bacteria?'" said her mother, Davida Jackson. "And I asked him, ‘Are you serious?' and he said, ‘Yes, I thought you knew.'"
Davida Jackson says she literally shook with fear. She had closely followed the story of Aimee Copeland, the Snellville woman whose limbs were amputated after she contracted Necrotizing Fasciitis-- flesh eating bacteria.
"I love my baby and I thought I was going to lose her," she told FOX 5.
Sixteen days and five surgeries later, Krysten was released. She's able to walk, but doctors say she's still susceptible.
Last Friday, on her 18th birthday, doctors declared her free of the flesh-eating bacteria that had threatened her.
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Children's Miracle Network Hospitals raises funds for 170 children's hospitals across the United States and Canada. Click here for more on our local heroes!
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Douglas County teen Krysten Rowe is home from the hospital after fighting and beating a flesh-eating bacteria.
