September 13th, 2006 - Gazette
A brush with death - http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1321510&table=story_archive&sec=1#/
Shayla Baier is home recovering from a flesh-eating bacteria that nearly cost her her life. She must keep the wound exposed so it can heal. Skin grafts from her legs helped fill in the area where surgeries removed affected skin and tissue.
Woman credits prayer, support for overcoming flesh-eating infection
By CARY LEIDER VOGRIN THE GAZETTE
When Shayla Baier’s family looks at her, they don’t see a young woman with a massive wound on her chest and neck. They see a medical marvel — and much more. “It’s unbelievable. We got our miracle. Woo-hoo!” her father, Mike Baier, said Tuesday. More than a month after contracting a case of necrotizing fasciitis, a rare and sometimes deadly infection commonly known as “flesh-eating bacteria,” his daughter is home. Shayla Baier, 21, didn’t know about her brush with death until she awoke in a Denver hospital in late August and was told surgeons in Colorado Springs and Denver repeatedly had to cut away dead flesh
in a battle against the bacteria. “It’s crazy to think about,” she said while resting Tuesday in a recliner in her Colorado Springs apartment. “I almost died. But it was the prayers and support that got me through. Can you put in there ‘thank you for all the prayers and love and support’?” “We really feel like it’s a miracle,” added her grandmother, Janet Baier of Kansas. “We have to remember to always thank God.” Shayla began experiencing symptoms of an infection July 24, when she noticed soreness and swelling in her neck. Redness followed, and then her skin turned black. Such infections occur when an invasive strain of group A streptococcus enters a cut or scrape. The bacteria quickly multiply and give off toxins that kill the tissue. The Centers for Disease Control estimates the mortality rate for necrotizing fasciitis at 20 to 30 percent, although other medical literature lists much higher death rates. Shayla had given birth to a boy June 22 at Penrose Community Hospital, and her father said it’s believed the infection started at an intravenous site on her neck. Surgeons at Memorial Hos- pital first removed dead tissue from her neck Aug. 2; she later was transferred to the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. Shayla said she cried a lot after she awoke — not because of a large wound that stops at her jawline, but because she couldn’t be with her son, who she learned was still in the hospital after being born two months early. In fact, she didn’t cry when she saw her neck and chest. “She was kind of prepared because I explained it to her several times,” said her dad. “I thought it looked nasty,” Shayla said. “It looked like the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’ Everyone said, ‘Oh, it looks good.’ I thought it looked gross. I still think it looks gross, but I guess it’s doing good.” Her wound does not look as deep as it is. Surgeons packed it with a special dressing that serves as a framework on which new cells can attach, enabling the body to rebuild itself. Skin from Shayla’s thighs was grafted over the wound. Shayla wears only tube tops so the wound can heal more quickly. She also takes two pain medications and will undergo weeks of occupational and physical therapy. The lower left side of her face is numb, as is part of her arm because of nerve damage. Swallowing is harder than it used to be. Her legs are weak from weeks in bed, and even though son Garrett has been hospitalized directly across the street from her Academy Boulevard apartment, she has had to get rides to see him. Her doctor told her it might be a year before she’s completely healed and can return to her job as a cashier at Wal-Mart. Her paternal grandparents plan to stay with her until she and Garrett no longer need their help. Shayla received news Tuesday that her son can come home this week. “He’ll be on oxygen, but he’s all right,” she said. And after everything, she considers herself fortunate and believes she and her son are living miracles. “I just gotta remember everything happens for a reason and you may not know why it happened right now, but eventually it comes to you. God has a plan. One day I’ll figure out why,” she said. CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0236 or cary.vogrin@gazette.com COMMENT ON THIS STORY (4)
Shayla Baier is home recovering from a flesh-eating bacteria that nearly cost her her life. She must keep the wound exposed so it can heal. Skin grafts from her legs helped fill in the area where surgeries removed affected skin and tissue.
Woman credits prayer, support for overcoming flesh-eating infection
By CARY LEIDER VOGRIN THE GAZETTE
When Shayla Baier’s family looks at her, they don’t see a young woman with a massive wound on her chest and neck. They see a medical marvel — and much more. “It’s unbelievable. We got our miracle. Woo-hoo!” her father, Mike Baier, said Tuesday. More than a month after contracting a case of necrotizing fasciitis, a rare and sometimes deadly infection commonly known as “flesh-eating bacteria,” his daughter is home. Shayla Baier, 21, didn’t know about her brush with death until she awoke in a Denver hospital in late August and was told surgeons in Colorado Springs and Denver repeatedly had to cut away dead flesh
in a battle against the bacteria. “It’s crazy to think about,” she said while resting Tuesday in a recliner in her Colorado Springs apartment. “I almost died. But it was the prayers and support that got me through. Can you put in there ‘thank you for all the prayers and love and support’?” “We really feel like it’s a miracle,” added her grandmother, Janet Baier of Kansas. “We have to remember to always thank God.” Shayla began experiencing symptoms of an infection July 24, when she noticed soreness and swelling in her neck. Redness followed, and then her skin turned black. Such infections occur when an invasive strain of group A streptococcus enters a cut or scrape. The bacteria quickly multiply and give off toxins that kill the tissue. The Centers for Disease Control estimates the mortality rate for necrotizing fasciitis at 20 to 30 percent, although other medical literature lists much higher death rates. Shayla had given birth to a boy June 22 at Penrose Community Hospital, and her father said it’s believed the infection started at an intravenous site on her neck. Surgeons at Memorial Hos- pital first removed dead tissue from her neck Aug. 2; she later was transferred to the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver. Shayla said she cried a lot after she awoke — not because of a large wound that stops at her jawline, but because she couldn’t be with her son, who she learned was still in the hospital after being born two months early. In fact, she didn’t cry when she saw her neck and chest. “She was kind of prepared because I explained it to her several times,” said her dad. “I thought it looked nasty,” Shayla said. “It looked like the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’ Everyone said, ‘Oh, it looks good.’ I thought it looked gross. I still think it looks gross, but I guess it’s doing good.” Her wound does not look as deep as it is. Surgeons packed it with a special dressing that serves as a framework on which new cells can attach, enabling the body to rebuild itself. Skin from Shayla’s thighs was grafted over the wound. Shayla wears only tube tops so the wound can heal more quickly. She also takes two pain medications and will undergo weeks of occupational and physical therapy. The lower left side of her face is numb, as is part of her arm because of nerve damage. Swallowing is harder than it used to be. Her legs are weak from weeks in bed, and even though son Garrett has been hospitalized directly across the street from her Academy Boulevard apartment, she has had to get rides to see him. Her doctor told her it might be a year before she’s completely healed and can return to her job as a cashier at Wal-Mart. Her paternal grandparents plan to stay with her until she and Garrett no longer need their help. Shayla received news Tuesday that her son can come home this week. “He’ll be on oxygen, but he’s all right,” she said. And after everything, she considers herself fortunate and believes she and her son are living miracles. “I just gotta remember everything happens for a reason and you may not know why it happened right now, but eventually it comes to you. God has a plan. One day I’ll figure out why,” she said. CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0236 or cary.vogrin@gazette.com COMMENT ON THIS STORY (4)
posted by The Family at 7:51 AM
2 Comments:
I just wantedto tell shayla high i havent tlaked to her in a long time i would like to but dont know how to get ahold of her if anyone reads this tell her that JerBear says hi and i hope for the best for her and her baby boy. god bless baby girl.
I just wantedto tell shayla high i havent tlaked to her in a long time i would like to but dont know how to get ahold of her if anyone reads this tell her that JerBear says hi and i hope for the best for her and her baby boy. god bless baby girl.
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